Diamond in the Rough
by The Dark Knight's Princess
Summary: AU. After a chance encounter, Casey finds her self supremely attracted to a very secretive Alex she meets in the most unlikely of places. The trick is getting Alex to open up and share a little more about her self because there is clearly more to her story than she is letting on. Can Casey get Alex to tear down her walls and let her in? AC Pair
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I was going to update Story of Us but I've lost a little bit of my muse and I need a break from Asshole Abbie for a little bit. Thus here is a new story from yours truly. I've had this idea in my head for a while and it wasn't exactly fully put together until now. It's a little different, but I think it'll be a good write/read so I hope you all enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any unoriginal character in this piece. **

"C'mon young blood, we're going on celebrating and stress relieving!" Abbie exclaims as she drags her best friend out of her apartment building and ceremoniously shoves the flustered redhead into the passenger side of her car.

"Abbie, what the hell?!" Casey exclaims as she reluctantly puts on her seatbelt and folds her arms tightly across her chest. "I told you that I'm fine. I just want to enjoy a quiet Friday night with a book and the radio playing softly in the background; NOT where ever you have decided that you're going to drag me to."

Abbie makes a face and shakes her head. "Nonsense. You've been on the job for a week and one, we never official went out to celebrate you joining the ADA club, and two, it's been a week and you're already stressed out. I can see it in your eyes. You need to loosen up and I know just the place that's gonna do it. I just hope you brought cash."

Casey raises her eyebrows in suspicious and turns towards her best friend with a look of slight confusion. "Cash? Why would I need cash?"

"Just trust me on this one. You'll love it. I promise. Have you ever not loved anything that I said you were gonna love?"

"Well…there was that one time that you told me-"

"EXCEPT that?"

Casey purses her lips into a thin line and folds her arms once more. "No I guess not then. But seriously Abbie, I had just intended on staying home tonight. What's so bad about staying at home with a book?"

"It makes you look like a hermit." Abbie deadpans as she slows down and stops at a red traffic light. "C'mon Case. Live a little. Experience the luxuries of the nightlife of New York! You've got a kick ass job, and you're practically fresh out of law school. Do you know how much of an accomplishment that is?"

"Two years is hardly fresh Abbie."

"It is in this line of work. They don't just hire ANYBODY to be ADAs you know. You've gotta make an impression and you've gotta earn it and you've done just that. You're obviously good at what you do because if you weren't, Liz wouldn't have even thought about hiring you; not even as a janitor."

A bashful blush appears on Casey's face and she is glad that it is well on into the evening and Abbie can't exactly see her blushing. "I guess you're right. I just…I don't know. It's a lot to get used to still. I'm not sure if the detectives at the 1-6 like me at all. Hell, I'm not even sure if the other ADAs in the office like me at all."

Abbie snorts humorously before she chuckles and shakes her head. "The detectives at the 1-6 are a special case. Before you, I worked most of their cases, and before that, it was pretty much a revolving door of ADAs. They just gotta get used to you, that's all. When you say 'other ADAs', are you talking about Kim and Rena? Nah, don't let them give you a hard time, they just gotta get used to you too. Serena probably has this thing in the back of her mind that she thinks you're gonna try to be moving in on Olivia. As for Kim…well, Kim is just like that. She doesn't get used to new people that well. I think it actually super cute."

Casey raises an eyebrow as a well satisfied smirk spreads across her face. "You have a thing for her don't you? I never knew that scary, blunt, and dangerous was you're kinda turn on."

"Hey, those are the things that make her hot, alright? Just don't mention that to her. I don't want her to go thinking I'm a creep or something."

"YOU? A creep? Never!" Casey gasps sarcastically as she places her hand over her heart in exaggeration.

Abbie rolls her eyes at her best friend's sarcasm. "You've been hanging around me too long, Novak. Your sarcasm is starting to become a sickness."

Casey grins widely and shrugs her shoulders innocently. "I learn from the best, Carmichael. I learn from the best."

The two continue on in conversation before Abbie pulls up to a rather large venue with bright flashing lights on the outside and several cars lined out front. Casey raises her eyebrows in confusion and curiosity once more when Abbie ushers her out of the car and tosses her car keys to the waiting valet who she seems to be familiar with.

"You've dragged me to a nightclub…" Casey mumbles as she follows closely behind Abbie as they make their way towards the door.

"Something like that." Abbie responds smugly before she greets the tall, muscular man standing at the door. "Hey Mack! I didn't know you were working tonight!"

"Picked up an extra shift. Gotta pay those bills right?" The large man laughs fully before he notices Casey. "This a lady friend of yours Abbie? She's cute, I could see why you would go for her."

Abbie glances at a blushing Casey and fights the urge to double over in a hysteric fit of laughter. "Nah man, just my best friend. Tryin to get her to loosen up a bit."

"I see. Well, go right on in. I'm sure the ladies have been waiting for ya. You ladies have a good time."

"Thanks Mack."

Casey follows closely behind Abbie as they enter the club. There are lights flashing everywhere and she can practically feel the loud thump of the base radiating through the air. As she glances around, she sees several women walking around in probably too high, high heels and more than revealing clothing. It isn't until a few seconds later that it dawns on her where she is.

"Abbie! Did you seriously kidnap me out of the confines of my apartment and drag me to a strip club of all places?!" Casey hisses angrily into the brunette's ear.

"Would you relax?!" Abbie explains coolly as she rolls her eyes. "Just ease up a bit Case, you'll be fine."

Casey narrows her eyes and folds her arms tightly as she starts mumbling to her self. She has never been to a strip club before in her whole entire life, and she's sure she never would have if she hadn't met Abbie freaking Carmichael.

Abbie glances back at her best friend and shakes her head as she musters an amused chuckle. "Try not to look so uptight and like you have to use the bathroom. You might end up making the ladies uncomfortable."

"Just how many times have you been here?" Casey questions with a raise of an eyebrow.

"Maybe a couple." Abbie shrugs nonchalantly as she puts her hands in her pockets.

"Hi Abbie." Two girls wearing g-string thongs and bikini tops chorus smoothly as they walk past in nearly eight inch heels.

Casey raises an eyebrow and turns back to her best friend with a serious expression. "You do realize that Kim isn't going to go out with you if she finds out you're a regular at a lesbian strip club.

Abbie rolls her eyes and gives her best friend a slight shove. "Oh shut up. Okay so I might come often, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is getting you to loosen up and have some fun. Like I said before, I sure hope you brought some cash."

Groaning considerably, Casey tries to fight as Abbie drags her through the venue of patrons and right up to a table by the main stage. She has literally never seen so many half dressed women in her life and a feint blush creeps onto her face when she finds that she is actually a tiny bit turned on.

Casey shifts uncomfortably as she sits next to her best friend who causally mingles with practically any and all of the dancers that walk by. She sighs and takes a small sip of her cocktail before turns to Abbie who seems to be tucking a folded twenty dollar bill into a girl's waistband. "Abbie, seriously? Just how much money do you drop on these kinds of things?"

"Enough." Abbie responds with a shrug.

Rolling her eyes, Casey sits back in her chair and crosses her arms, wishing that the evening can be over so she can simply go home and read like she had intended on doing to begin with. She is about to open her mouth to protest when a certain dancer walking in their direction catches her eye. The woman is tall, slender, blonde, and ha a body to die for. In all honesty, Casey has never seen a woman so beautiful and her throat immediately goes dry. She rolls her eyes and directs her attention else where when the woman saunters over and plops down in Abbie's lap.

* * *

"And just how is everyone's favorite customer this evening?" the blonde asks as she loosely drapes her arms over Abbie's shoulders.

"Fine and good, Angel. How about you, Baby? You dancing tonight?" Abbie responds with an inquisitive raise of her eyebrow.

The dancer called 'Angel' pouts and shakes her head before she lets it rest to the side. "I'm afraid not baby. You'll have to catch me some other time. I can however extend a few of my…other services to you?" she purrs before grinding her hips a little to tease the brunette.

Abbie moans deep in her throat and is about to take the blonde up on her offer before another idea clicks in her head. "As good as that sounds sweetheart, how about a little something for my friend over there? See, she just got this new job and we're out here to celebrate but I'm having a little trouble getting her to loosen up. You know, get her to let her hair down and relax. You think you can do the job?"

Angel gasps and places her hand over her heart as she feigns hurt. "I'm a little wounded that you have to ask. But you know, it's going to cost her. I don't just get people to relax for free you know."

"Just put it on my tab and keep the change." Abbie purrs as she reaches into her pocket and slides a hundred dollar bill into the blonde's waistband.

"Mmm, now you're speaking my language." Angel replies, sliding off Abbie's lap as she saunters her way over to the nervous redhead. Too be honest, she finds the other woman to be stunningly attractive, but she isn't about to let her guard down. Not when she has a job to do. "And how are you this evening?"

"I-I um…I'm good." Casey squeaks, cursing her self for sounding like a complete idiot. Her eyes widen considerably when the blonde moves closer to her and actually begins moving in a seductive motion that is drawing her in by the second. "Um…can I help you?"

The dancer chuckles and shakes her head, her blonde hair flowing freely with the movement. "The question should be, can _I_ help _you_? C'mon, follow me. Your friend over there paid for you to have a good time."

Casey's eyes widen once again as she finds the dancer taking her hand and leading her towards one of the back rooms. She casts a glare at a snickering Abbie before she swallows thickly and finds her self pushed into a chair in a room with dim pink lighting and soft, thumping music in the back ground. Oh shit.

"So, I'm assuming that you've never really been to a place like this?" Angel says amusedly as she begins swaying her hips seductively to the beat of the music. She giggles when she sees the expression of confusion plastered across Casey's face as she climbs into the redhead's lap continuing to grind and swivel her hips. "You're nervous."

"I'm not nervous I just…I don't do this." Casey replies as she awkwardly clears her throat. "Um, look. I don't mean to ruin what you do or anything, but I…isn't really my kind of thing."

Angel snorts before she shakes her head. "Pfft, yeah, I can tell." She mutters as she shakes her head once again.

Casey bites down on her lower lip as she sees she has slightly flustered and irritated the blonde. "So…what's your name?" she asks after a long moment of extended silence.

"Angel." The dancer replies robotically as she continues on with the lap dance.

Casey frowns and purses her lips before she shakes her head. "Is that your real name? I mean, if it is that's a nice name, but something tells me it's not. I've never really heard of a stripper that actually went by her real name. Um…my name's Casey. You?"

The blonde purses her lips tightly and stops her movements completely. "Why do you want to know?" she asks tightly as she tilts her head.

"I don't know. Just trying to get to know you I guess. We can just talk. You still got paid and this way you don't have to work."

"I don't need a talking companion. I have a job to do."

"I just want to know your name, that's all. Your real name."

The dancer sighs heavily and glances off to the side, her lips still pursed into that tight thin line. "My name is Alexandra." She says quietly, so quiet that if Casey wasn't so close, she probably would have missed it.

"Alexandra…" Casey says to her self testing the name out. "That's a nice name. Do you go by Alex?" she then asks, smiling slightly when the blonde hesitantly nods. "Even better. Um…if you don't mind my asking, why are you stripping?"

The glare that Casey gets is deathly and Alex immediately climbs out of her lap. "That's none of your business and I'm not going to sit here and waste my time if you're just going to sit there and probe with your stupid questions." She spits venomously before she spins on her heel and exits the room.

Casey makes her way back into the club and plops back down in her seat next to Abbie. "Did you know her real name is Alex?"

Abbie raises an eyebrow and tilts her head to the side as she slowly nods. "Yeah, I did, but how'd you get her to tell you that?"

"I don't know. I just kind of asked and she told me. I don't know what it is Abbie, but there's something about her that's different."

"Different how?"

"I don't know. It's almost like she just doesn't belong in a place like this."

**Ooo interesting right? Leave your thoughts? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Three different stories, three updates. I think I did pretty good huh? Anyhow, glad you guys have openly accepted the idea of this story and hope you all enjoy this chapter :3 **

Alex pulls her coat tighter around her body against the cold winds of the early hours of the morning as she makes her way up the steps to her slightly shady apartment building. She ignores the gazes of the few people that are actually down in the lobby at such a late hour, already having a gut feeling of just what it is they're thinking about her as she makes her way towards the stairs. She knows better than to use the elevator in this place, especially when it comes to using it after dark.

A lot of the people in her apartment building assume what she does, while fewer just have their suspicions on what she does, and even fewer than _that_ actually _know_ what it is she does. Nearly all of them judgmental and Alex can practically feel their eyes boring into her whenever she walks past. Half of the time she wishes to turn to one of them and tell them off, saying they have no idea what it's like being her and other nasty things that a lady should probably never say, but her mother raised her better than that.

After making her way up her usual six flights of stairs, her nose wrinkles as she passes apartment 42D and the smell of musk and alcohol is seeping out from underneath the door. One would think with the amount of time she's been living in this crappy building that she would be use to such smell, but unfortunately, she isn't. Sighing, her heels thud quietly against the raggedy green carpet as she makes her way down the hall to her apartment. She's almost there too, when a door opens and an aged balding man steps out into the hallway.

"You're behind on your rent again, Alexandra." The landlord says firmly as he leans against the door frame with his arms crossed.

Alex closes her eyes before she spins around and manages a small smile. "I know Dave. You don't have to remind me. I'll have the money. Please, just give me a little bit more time."

Dave nods his head even though he keeps his eyes fixated on the young blonde. "I've been very lenient with you, you know. This is the fourth month in a row that you've been behind and I've let it slide. I can't keep looking the other way every time you miss your rent. You've got to pay just like everybody else who lives here."

"I know, I know. Things are just really tight right now and my pay hasn't been too great lately." She finishes off, briefly casting her gaze down to the floor. "And that has been with me taking extra shifts and putting in a lot of over time."

"The restaurant not been busy?" the man asks sincerely with a tilt of his head.

Alex bites down on her lower lip and shakes her head in the negative. Dave is one of the people in the building that actually know what she really does, but the two of them pretend it isn't true for the sake of other residents. He often refers to Alex's job as 'working in the restaurant'. She can pass for a waitress anyway, right?

Dave clears his throat before standing up straight once again. "I see. Well I wish you well and hope that everything will work out for you. But I really do need you to start paying your rent on time."

"I'm trying…thanks Dave." Alex responds quietly as she turns around and continues making her way to her apartment. She sticks the key into the door and let's her self in, greeted by the cold darkness that she has to call home for the time being.

As she walks further into her apartment, she flips on the light and dumps her stuff onto the counter before she begins slipping through her mail. Her heart sinks when she realizes the only thing occupying her mail space at the moment is bill after bill after bill. Electric bills, water bill, gas bill, phone bill, any kind of bill that can be imagined and on top of that, she still has to pay the rent.

Sighing once more, Alex pulls a cigarette from her coat pocket, sticks it in her mouth, and lights it before tossing the lighter down on the table. She plops down in the chair and pulls out her tips and pay for the night, counting up the bills to see how much she's brought home for the day.

After a few minutes of counting a shit load of folded ones, a few fives, maybe a ten here and there, one twenty, and the hundred Abbie had slipped her, Alex concludes with roughly two hundred dollars. She groans and lets her head fall into her hands as she realizes that's not nearly enough. "That's still not even enough for the rent alone, let alone all of this damn bills." She mumbles before she sits back in the chair, quite frustrated that she has once again come up with less money than she would have liked in a single night.

Taking a puff of her cigarette, the blonde runs her fingers through her hair as she tries to weigh all of her options which really aren't very many to begin with. She has no money, no family who is even relatively willing to answer her phone calls, she's staying in a crappy apartment, and to make matters worse, she's behind on her rent and still has about three other bills to pay not to mention the main reason she's stripping to begin with. She could always attempt to sell some of her stuff, but what would that do? Get her by for maybe another month? Then what?

"What am I gonna do…" she mumbles to her self once again as she takes her head and drops her head into her hand, wondering what the hell it is that she _can_ do, let alone _going _to do.

**A Week Later **

"I'm a little worried over the fact that you insist I bring you here again." Abbie says with a skeptical raise of her eyebrow as they enter the same club as they had a week ago. "It looks to me that you didn't have such a good time the last time we were here."

"Hey, I had a good time." Casey attempts to plead before she awkwardly shoves her hands into her pockets and shrugs. "Besides, I have my reasons for wanting to come back. Why do you come back? If you need something to blow your money on, why don't you take Doctor Scary-stein on a real date?"

Abbie rolls her eyes, resisting the urge to punch her best friend. "How about I let that comment slide and I don't hit you in the face?"

Casey shrugs again as she takes a seat at the table Abbie has led them to. "I'm just saying."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, 'just saying'. So what's your real reason for wanting to come back, Novak? Can't be because you like tits in your face with as much of a prude as you are."

"First off, you're a vulgar idiot, secondly, I'm not a prude. And like I said, I have my reasons for wanting to come back." Casey concludes as she glances around the club looking for a specific dancer in particular.

The motion doesn't go unnoticed by Abbie who simply quirks an eyebrow in interest once more. "Who ya looking for?"

Casey snaps her head back to her best friend before she blushes heavily, her face instantly matching the color of her hair. "No one." She responds quickly, far too quickly to hide anything and her blushing continues to give her away."

"Bullshit." Abbie smirks as a smug grin spreads across her face. She is about to press the subject more when her gaze catches the stage and her eyes widen considerably. "Holy shit…"

Casey's mouth goes dry once again as her eyes land on an all too familiar blonde who is clad in a thong string bikini and is working the pole like she practically owns it. Her eyes widen as well when she sees the dancer wrap a long toned leg around the pole and then proceed to swing around it with graceful ease that she has honestly never ever seen before in her entire life. "Jesus…"

Under any kind of normal circumstances, Casey would be thoroughly embarrassed over the fact that her best friend is one of the people leaning onto the stage, tucking folded dollar bills into a stripper's underwear, but she is too transfixed and mesmerized by the gorgeous blonde to even think about caring.

Even long after the dance has ended, Casey finds her self still staring at the spot on the stage that was formerly occupied by one of the most beautiful women that she has ever seen in the world. She is only brought back to reality when said gorgeous woman makes her way over to their table.

"Outstanding performance as usual." Abbie greets with a grin as the blonde perches her self on her lap.

"Many of thanks are extended." The dancer replies before she reaches onto the table and downs the contents in one of the shot glasses. "Glad to know that I can always count on the club's favorite for tips."

"You know I'll always be here to watch you baby."

Alex hums before she turns her gaze on Casey and tilts her head. "You're rather quiet tonight, seeing as a week ago, you seemed to have had a lot to say."

Casey shrugs her shoulders as she stirs the straw around her drink. "Maybe I just don't have a lot to say at the moment."

"Figures." Alex mutters to her self before she stands up again and prepares to walk off. "I've got to get back to work. Money doesn't earn it self."

"Wait." Casey calls out to the dancer before she is able to stop her self or even think about what it is she's saying. "Let me buy a lap dance. A private one."

"What?" Both Abbie and Alex chorus simultaneously, both women thoroughly shocked by the red haired woman's request.

Casey shrugs her shoulders as she attempts to hide the nerves that are threatening to show in her posture. "You can't turn down a paying customer right?"

Alex's eyes narrow into thin slits as she grits her teeth. Damn if she didn't need money desperately. "Fine." She mutters as she holds her hand out.

Casey smirks at her rather dumbfounded best friend as she allows for the gorgeous dancer to lead her into the same private back room that she had been in before hand. A satisfied smirk spreads across her face as she takes a seat on the sofa occupying the room.

"Do you intend on running your mouth this entire time?" Alex asks as the music starts and she begins to slowly sway her hips to the rhythm..

"Maybe." Casey replies with that same half grin before she continues. "But I intend on getting what I paid for this time, that way you can't run from me. You leave half way through, I don't pay you. That sound fair?"

Alex hums for a moment before she smiles slightly and runs her hands down the redhead's arms to her thighs. "Where did you find that kind of confidence in a week?"

"I'm a lawyer, confidence is kind of my thing."

"Hm, I see that you've found a little hint of arrogance as well."

Casey shrugs as the dancer climbs into her lap and slowly begins to grind against her. She has to bite down on her lower lip to keep from moaning as she feels hands skillfully beginning to explore her body, but she has to remember what she's really there for. "So you never answered my question because you ran off last week. How come you're stripping?"

"How come any other girl is in here stripping?" Alex counters with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Good counter, but you just don't seem like the type of girl to be in here doing a job like this."

Alex shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. "Times are rough." She says quietly before she reaches around her back and pulls the strings on her top, succeeding in exposing her breasts to the woman before her. As she continues to grind seductively, she slips her hands underneath Casey's shirt as she presses her self further into the attorney. She lightly drags her nails down soft, silky skin causing Casey to close her eyes and moan involuntarily. Alex smirks triumphantly as she then teasingly runs her hands up and over Casey's thighs, all the way around until she repeats her earlier notion. "Somebody seems to be enjoying her self more than expecting."

Casey can't help but moan in response as she slightly comes back to reality, though she keeps her eyes closed, reveling in the feeling of those hands on her skin. "So your name is Alex, and you strip because quote 'times are rough'. I'm assuming that means you have bills that need to paid, because that's understandable right? But why stripping?"

"It pays." Alex mumbles, sliding off of Casey's lap when the dance finally comes to an end. "That'll be one hundred..."

Casey holds up the two one hundred dollar bills for the blonde to take. "You can keep the change." She purrs coolly before she gets up from the sofa and exits the room. "I'll see you around…_Alex_."

Alex puts her top back on and folds her arms, wondering why the hell this woman is interested in her so much and just how far she is going to go to get her to open up with personal information about her self.

* * *

"Dude, I can't believe you actually bought a lap dance." Abbie says in complete shock as the two walk through the door of Casey's condo later that night. "It was awesome wasn't it?"

Casey shrugs nonchalantly as she goes into the kitchen and retrieves to beer bottles before handing one to her best friend. "I'm not gonna lie, the lap dance was pretty great, but I just wanted to get her alone so I could talk to her. Like I said, I get a different vibe from her. It's almost like she's there because she feels like she has to be, not because she wants to be."

Abbie snorts and takes a swig of her beer as she plops down on the couch. "You're gonna end up like that song. You know which one I'm talking about? The one about the dude singing he's in love with a stripper."

"Whatever. Just because I got a girl to tell me her name doesn't mean she's gonna fall in love with me and vice versa." Casey responds as she sits her beer down on the bar counter. She reaches into her back pocket and freezes when she finds nothing there. "What the fuck."

"What, what's wrong?" Abbie questions as she looks away from the television.

"My wallet's gone."

"Whoa. Seriously? Did you leave it in my car?"

Casey shakes her head as she proceeds to check all of her pockets. "No, Abbs, I make sure to check the seat after I get up. I know I didn't leave it there."

Abbie thinks for a moment before she shrugs her shoulders. "Well did you leave it at the club? When's the last time you remember having it? Or better yet, did you even bring it?"

"Of course I brought it, my ID is in there. I remember that having it before I…" Casey pauses as she lightly smacks her forehead, suddenly drawing the conclusion on there whereabouts of her missing wallet.

"Shit…"

**Uh oh. Where is Casey's wallet? Leave your thoughts? **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow, surmised you guys really do love this story so much! Thanks for your support! Chapter for you!**

"Miss Novak, you have a visitor." Casey's assistant, Jackie says awkwardly as she lingers in the attorney's doorway. "She looks rather flustered over something. I would say that she's a victim, but I can't be entirely sure. Do you want me to send in her in?"

"Go ahead." Casey mumbles without looking way from her laptop as she continues typing up a brief. To be honest, she's expecting one of three things, a raped prostitute, an abused teenager, or a parent who is suspecting that their child is being abused. She's seen far more than that in the short time that she's been the ADA for SVU, but those are the three things that stand out to her to most. What she doesn't expect at all is to see that the 'flustered' woman is a familiar gorgeous dancer she had become slightly familiar with over the past two weeks.

Raising her eyebrows, Casey stands up from her chair and advances around to the other side of her desk before she leans against, folds her arms, and nods her head towards the door. "Close the door." She says flatly, her voice empty of emotion.

Alex does as she's told before she awkwardly clears her throat. "Are the people in this office always that judgmental with how they look at people? And I swear your assistant out there looked like she wanted to fight me when I asked for you. Sorry, I'm rambling." She trails off before she reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out a wallet before she hands it over to silently attorney, flinching when Casey abruptly snatches it from her. "I um…I found the address for this place on one of your business cards in there. I-I swear I didn't take anything."

"It doesn't matter if you swear or not; I know how much cash I had in here that night." Casey states firmly as she begins looking through her wallet, thoroughly surprised to find everything there though she doesn't allow the surprise to show on her face. But everything is there, her credit card, her debit card, her ID, her cash, everything. She tosses her wallet on her desk before she purses her lips tightly and folds her arms once again. "Why'd you steal from me?"

Blushing slightly, Alex averts her gaze to the floor in order to keep from staring into the fierce green eyes that are boring into her for an explanation. "I needed money." She says quietly and shamefully after a long, intense silence.

Casey's facial expression softens and she sighs before she shakes her head. "There are other means of receiving money other than stealing, Alex. I think after stealing my wallet, I at least deserve the explanation on why you would need money so badly that you have to resort to stealing. And I want the truth."

"What's the point? You can't help me anyway if I told you."

"Maybe I could. Just tell me."

"But why you want to help me? I'm a perfect stranger who nothing more than shows her boobs to anyone for a quick buck."

Casey raises her eyebrows before she leans back against her desk once more. "In case you haven't noticed Alex; helping people is my job. Helping perfect strangers is my job. If I didn't give an inkling of a care, I would have thrown you out after you returned my wallet, or even had you arrested because there's a detective right down the hall. But I didn't and I won't, because I actually care. Just tell me, I'm not going to judge you."

Alex snorts mirthlessly as she sits down in one of the chairs in front of Casey's desk and folds her arms tightly. "I need money, because I'm behind on my rent and my bills for the fourth month in a row…"

"Yeah, I kinda figured you needed rent money." Casey says calmly, assuming that was the root of the blonde's problems.

"I wasn't finished." Alex speaks up as she drags her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I'm behind on my rent and bills, but I really need the money to finish paying off loans so I can actually graduate from law school and get my license."

Casey's eyes widen considerably and she is stunned into silence for the better part of a minute before she is able to come up with something coherent and intelligent to say. "What? You're in law school?"

Alex looks up and quirks an eyebrow in sight offense despite the blush that has made it self apparent on her face. "Please don't sound so surprised. It's rather offending." She says flatly before she leans back in the chair.

Casey clears her throat and rubs the back of her neck as she shakes her head. "I—sorry, it was…I don't know. It wasn't what I was expecting I guess. I didn't mean to offend you. I understand the expenses of law school, but I had financial aid from my parents…what about your parents? Why aren't they helping you?"

"You mean my asswipe of a father who cut me off?" Alex snorts before shaking her head. "Yeah, fat chance that I'm gonna get any kinda help from him. Ever since Mom died, he's only cared about my spoiled ass sister who has always been the perfect little angel in his eyes. It's so irritating that he put Rachel through law school and even got her a job at the family firm but I'm the one whose struggling just to make sure she has a place to sleep at night."

Casey narrows her eyes as things start coming together like a puzzle piece. "Um, I might be taking a shot in the dark with what I'm about to ask, but you wouldn't happen to be Alex _Cabot_, would you?"

"In the flesh." Alex mumbles as a shameful blush creeps onto her face once again. "No one ever thought Daddy Cabot's little angel would be taking her clothes off just so she can get by right? It doesn't matter. Not many people know who I am. Shit, I don't even think Abbie has figured it out yet and I've grinded on her more times than I would care to count."

"As I said before, I'm not judging you." Casey says softly as she gets over her shock. "I understand how hard times can get sometimes."

"Yeah well, I'm sure that you've never felt so low that you've resorted to degrading yourself just to earn some money. I'm sure that if my father knew what I was doing because he refused to support me, he would be even more ashamed of me than he already is. It's all because I like women you know. He tries to make it seem like it's not, but we both know that it is. My sister is the typical Cabot. Wealthy married wealthy, she's given him three grandkids, and look at me. I'm pretty sure no one even knows that I exist anymore. I'm sorry; I shouldn't be telling you my life story right now."

"No, uh, it's fine. We all need to vent sometimes."

Alex clears the emotion from her throat as she stands up from the chair and wipes her eyes. "Right, well, there's your wallet. I've gotta go start getting ready for work."

Casey bites down on her lower lip before she nods her head. "Right, um, thanks…again."

"No problem." Alex says over her shoulder before she exits the attorney's office without another word or another glance.

Casey sighs quietly before she goes back and sits down in her chair wondering what it is that she can do to help the woman that has just left her presence, or better yet, wondering whether or not Alex will even let her help at all.

* * *

"Who is that?" Serena asks out aloud as she takes note of the blonde who has entered and exited Casey's office all with in a span of about fifteen minutes.

"More like _what_ is that." Kim states bluntly as she absentmindedly looks through folders in her arms, pausing when Serena pinches her shoulder. "Ow. What?"

"That was mean…"

"It was true…I'm just saying. My hooker alert was going off, because that chick that just left looks like a hooker."

Serena raises her eyebrows and turns towards her best friend. "Just because she is relatively pretty, that automatically makes her a hooker?"

Kim thinks for a moment before she shakes her head in the negative. "No, that's not what I said. You didn't get that vibe? She's either one of two things; she's either a hooker or a stripper."

"You are so superficial…"

"As I said before, I'm just saying. Did you see Jackie's face though? She looked repulsed. It was actually pretty hilarious."

Serena sighs and shakes her head. "You have such a weird sense of humor. I'm starting to think that you win all of your cases by scaring the defendant into confessing whether they've actually done it or not."

Kim shrugs her shoulders in that nonchalant fashion of hers. "You know, I can't understand why people think I'm scary? I don't think I'm scary, I'm just honest."

"Kim, you laughed the entire time during Texas Chainsaw Massacre…" Serena points out, trying to prove her point.

"It was a funny movie!" Kim exclaims attempting to defend her case. "I want to go ask Casey about who that woman was, but I unfortunately have a meeting with our sleaze of a boss."

"Liz?"

"No, the other one. I'd rather be having a meeting with Liz though."

Serena makes a face and clutches her folders against her body at the thought. "Oh…she still trying to sleep with you?"

"Unfortunately…" the taller woman mumbles before she shudders. "Let this be strictly off the record, but if she ever touches me, I know judo and tae kwon do."

"Do you really?"

"Do you want to test me?"

"No, I'm good. I'm going to go talk to Casey; meanwhile I think you should head off to that meeting of yours. I don't think Abbie will be happy if you're late."

Kim stops in her tracks and turns to Serena before pointing to her own face. "Does this face look like it cares?"

Serena sighs and shakes her head. "Not hardly." She murmurs before she proceeds into Casey's office without knocking, a little surprised to find the redhead staring blankly at her computer. "Whoa, Case, you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Huh?" Casey blinks back into reality before she shakes her head and rubs her temples. "Oh, no, I uh, I'm fine. I just…you guys are smart women, I'll ask you. How do you help someone that you hardly know, not to mention someone who really doesn't want help, but they'd rather figure things out for themselves?"

Before Serena can respond with a logical answer, Kim decides to add in her two cents. "Is this about the hooker that just left your office a few moments ago?"

Casey's eyes flash and a frown creases across her face. "Hooker?"

"Kim!" Serena hisses before she shakes her head. "What Kimberly means, is we were just wondering who your friend was seeing as we've never seen her before, unless she was a victim, then that is a totally different story."

Casey shakes her head before she sighs and leans back in her leather chair. "She's…someone that I've met recently, and she seems like she's going through a rough time right now. I want to help her, but I don't think she wants any help and it really is hard to help someone who doesn't want your help, you know?"

"I'll say. She looks like she could use some help." Kim mumbles, jumping when Serena pinches her again. "Southerlyn, if you pinch me one more time I swear I will hit you in the throat!"

"Stop being so mean." Serena says quietly before clearing her throat and smiling.

Casey rolls her eyes as she swivels in her chair and turns back to her laptop. "The two of you are worse than four year olds…seeing as you two can't help me, I'll resort to asking the internet."

"You should've just done that to begin with." Kim murmurs, glaring hard at Serena when the blonde raises a hand to pinch her once more. "Good luck with your problem Case, I've gotta go deal with the scum of the earth."

"Ooo, interviewing a suspect?" Casey asks with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Not even close." The brunette sighs before exiting the office.

Casey waits for Kim to disappear before she turns to Serena with pleading eyes. "Please tell me that you have some of that angel pixie dust advice that you can offer m?"

Serena giggles quietly before she shrugs her shoulders. "I'm sorry Case, the only thing that I can tell you to do is to keep trying."

Casey sighs heavily before she let's her head drop into her hands. "That's exactly what I was afraid of."

**Hmmm, leave your thoughts? **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Chapter for you guys :) hope you all enjoy! **

Casey swears under her breath against the cold harshness of the winter air of New York. Due to the snow the night prior, she has settled on walking to work, in order to save her car from going through the harsh conditions, not to mention, it would probably be ten times harder to get to the office driving what with everyone out and about in the snow.

Her gloved hand grips her brief case in a tight fist and the heels of her boots make noticeable imprints in the snow as she shuffles her way down the side walk past the other civilians of the city attempting to keep warm against the onslaught of winter weathers. A frown of determination is etched on her face as she is dead set on getting to her office in one piece, but the sight of a familiar person sitting at a bus stop catches her eye and deters her away from her original path.

"Alex?" the attorney asks in confusion and curiosity as she cautiously approaches the shivering blonde seated on the ice covered metal bench.

Alex resists the urge to roll her eyes as she recognizes the voice. She simply settles on narrowing her eyes as she looks up and fixes the redhead with a dismissive glare that clearly states she doesn't want to be bothered by anyone. "Are you following me or something now?"

Casey raises an eyebrow and stands up straight as she shoves a hand into her pocket. "Actually, the very last time we encountered one another, you came to my office, so no, I think the question of if I am following you or not is completely irrelevant. I was just going to ask you what you're doing out here probably freezing your ass off this time of morning.

"Waiting for the bus." The blonde mumbles as she pulls a cigarette out of her coat pocket and sticks it in her mouth. Just as she is about to light it with her lighter, she glances out of the corner of her eye and finds Casey staring at her with an expression she isn't exactly able to read first off. "What?"

"Nothing, just, ah, you smoke?" Casey asks as a small frown plays at her features.

"Yeah, so, you got a problem with it?"

"N-no, I don't. I just…surprised, I guess."

Alex chuckles mirthlessly and takes a long puff of her cigarette before letting the smoke spill from her lips. "Yeah, well, I'm full of surprises honey."

Casey blinks several times before she frowns and shakes her head. "Right, ah…what…what are you doing waiting for the bus? It's just now seven o clock?"

"Yeah, well, I just got off work." The blonde mumbles in response, letting the cigarette settle between her fingers. "I stayed overnight bartending and cleaning up for a little extra money. Which brings me to, what are you doing out at 'seven o clock in the morning?" Alex questions, slightly attempting to mimic Casey's tone of voice.

"Work." Casey responds as she gestures to her briefcase. "On normal circumstances, I would have driven, but it's completely pointless trying to drive in this, not to mention how the people in New York drive on a regular basis anyhow."

Alex hums uninterestedly before taking another puff of her cigarette. "Well please, Miss Assistant District Attorney, please don't allow the likes of me to stand in your way of getting to your precious job." She mumbles, pulling her coat tighter around her body before she crosses her legs.

Casey bites down on her lower lip, contemplating what her next move is going to be. She glances at her watch and then back at Alex before she sighs quietly to her self, finally making up her mind. "Well, come have breakfast with me so you can get out of the cold for a little while."

Alex snorts mirthlessly once more and shakes her head, keeping her gaze trained on the busy street in front of her. "You know I can't afford that…" she says quietly, more to her self than to the persistent woman standing over her.

"I offered, which means that I'll pay." Casey continues on, not missing the look that passes across the blonde's face.

"I don't need your pity." Alex snaps quickly, finally turning to meet Casey gaze for gaze.

"I'm not trying to pity you. I'm just trying to be nice. Let me buy you breakfast."

"You're not going to go away unless I say yes, are you…"

"Nope."

Alex rolls her eyes before she puts out the stub of her cigarette in the snow and then tosses the stubble into a near by trashcan. "Fine." She grumbles, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she casts her gaze elsewhere.

A few minutes later, Alex finds her self sitting in a booth across from Casey in a warm, cozy little diner. The smell of freshly baked pastries, coffee, and even bacon fills her nostrils and she does her best to not let the look of hunger show on her face as she stares blankly at the menu.

"You can order what ever you want." Casey says gently as she attempts to break the heavy silence. "Afterwards, I'll pay for a cab to take you home so you don't have to worry about freezing out there waiting for the next bus to roll by."

Alex's gaze snaps up from the menu, this one a lot harsher than the last. "Why are you doing this? What is it that you want from me?"

A look of confusion crosses Casey's features as she shakes her head in response. "I don't want anything from you. I'm just trying to be nice."

"Yeah, well, like I said before, I don't need your pity. I'm not some damn charity case that you can just pick up off the streets to make your lawful reputation better."

"Alex, look, I just want to help you okay? I just-"

"I don't need your damn help!"

Casey sighs heavily as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "Will you lower your voice and calm down please? I'm not trying to pity you, I'm not trying to make you feel like a charity case, I just want to help you, okay? What is so wrong about me wanting to help you?"

Alex is silent for a moment as her eyes begin to wander. "I'm used to people wanting something in return for when they give me something. I'm not used to anyone doing anything nice for me." she says quietly as she casts her gaze down to her hands. "Why are you so dead set on helping me when you hardly even know me?"

"Maybe there's just something about you. I don't know, I can't put my finger on what it is, but I know that you're a very special person who is having a hard time right now."

"Pfft, what do you know about hard times…"

Casey shrugs as she sits back into the booth. "Maybe nothing. I'll admit it, I was privileged growing up. I had two caring parents, a mom and a dad who loved me. Two older sisters I could look up to and who would also look out for me. So you're right, I've never experienced 'hard times' but just because I never experienced something like that, does not mean I can't care for the people who have."

Alex shakes her head and bites the inside of her cheek as tears begin to sting behind her eyes. "I would have killed to be in your family. Just because I was 'privileged' as people like to call it…doesn't mean I was happy. People would tell me all the time how lucky I was to be born into the 'Cabot Dynasty', but you know what? I wasn't so lucky. My mother died when I was just barely four years old and I remember nothing about her. The one thing that I do know is that she would not stand for how my father treats me now. Growing up, I knew that my sister Rachel was his favorite. She was truly 'Daddy's Little Girl'. What was I? Nothing more than an after thought who wasn't even supposed to be born. It's no secret that I was an accident between my parents because all they wanted was one child, but I like to tell my self that my mother loved me anyway. Father…Father never cared. He would send me to school and not care how the other kids would treat me. He didn't care that I would lock myself in my bedroom, begging him not to send me to school because I was tired of being made fun of. And when I came out to him…everything was just on a downhill slope from there. He was so disgusted that he couldn't even look at me half the time. He never addressed me by my name anymore, and that was when he actually took the time to speak to me. When I turned eighteen, I had no choice but to get out because I wasn't welcome in his house any longer. I struggled to put myself through college and now here I am attempting to finish law school, all without the help of my asshole of a father who has cut me off. I'm not welcome to my own family any longer. Rachel's kids…they don't even know that they have an aunt who exists. I am pretty much nonexistent to the rest of my family anyway."

Casey can't hide the sad expression that crosses her face as she looks at the blonde. "Alex, I…I'm so sorry. You've been through so much and all because your father can't accept who you are…I just…I don't even know what to say."

Alex sniffs and wipes her eyes to make sure that she hasn't been crying before she shakes her head. "It doesn't matter anymore. I've been by my self practically all my life. I've done everything on my own with out the help of anyone else. If I haven't needed anyone's help before, I certainly don't need yours. I can do this on my own."

"Alex, I know you're used to doing things by yourself, but at least let me help you."

"For what?! So you can look at me like you look at a victim? I am NOT a victim Casey and I'm not going to sit here and let you treat me like I am otherwise. I have gotten this far on my own and I can continue to get by, on my own. Just because I am struggling now doesn't mean I always will be."

Casey sighs and drags her fingers through her hair. "Let's…let's just order alright? I don't want to argue with you." she pleads, relaxing when she sees the blonde relent and nod her head. "Thank you."

The two share breakfast in a moderate silence and Alex can't hide the look of slight regret on her face when she sees the waiter return the receipt along with Casey's credit card. "I-I'll pay you back for this when I can. And you really don't have to pay for a cab. I'm okay with waiting for the bus."

"Nonsense. I told you that I don't mind." Casey responds with a small smile though she doesn't miss the frown playing at the blonde's feature. "Alex, I already told you a thousand times. I just want to help."

"And as I said before, I don't need anyone's help." Alex retorts quickly as she reiterates her point she has made several times already.

Casey is silent for a moment before she digs into her pocket and pulls out a small card and a pen. She scribbles something on the back of the card before she slides it across the table. "This is my card. My office phone and my cell phone number are both on there along with my office address and I wrote my home address on the back. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me."

Alex stares at the card for the longest of times before she hesitantly slides it off of the table. She stares at it in her hand for a brief moment before she slips it into her pocket. "Whatever…" she mumbles before she slides out of the booth. "Thanks for breakfast…and the cab…"

"No problem…" Casey says as the two exit the diner and she easily hails a cab on the street. She hands Alex money for the cab before giving the blonde's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You can keep whatever change he gives you. Take care of yourself, okay?"

Alex opens her mouth to protest, but she abruptly closes it when she realizes that it would be completely pointless to argue. She simply settles on nodding her head and uttering another quiet 'thank you' before she slips into the cab. She tells the cab driver her address and relaxes against the seat, wondering just how persistent Casey really is.

* * *

By the time Casey actually makes it to her office, she is met with the greeting smirk of her best friend waiting for her in her desk chair. "Out of my chair Carmichael…now."

"Not until you tell me why you're so late slinking in this morning." Abbie replies with a smirk. "Where ya been?"

"I had business I needed to take care of." The redhead mumbles as she shrugs off her coat and hangs it up. "Not to mention it is probably like two degrees outside and my limbs feel like they have been frozen stiff."

Abbie hums as she leans back in the chair and puts her feet on her best friend's desk, much to Casey's disapproval. "Sure, and I'm having tea with Queen Elizabeth and Barbara Walters next weekend. So tell me what's the real reason you're late?"

Casey purses her lips tightly and loathes the fact that she can't lie to Abbie about hardly anything without getting caught. "I was walking to work this morning and I saw Alex sitting at a bus stop. She looked cold so I offered to buy her breakfast."

"Oh, I see. Seems to me like you have a thing for her." Abbie hums, the amusement evident in her tone.

"It's not a thing Abbie, she just…she just needs help okay? And I want to help her. You'd do it to if you knew what she had going on. I'm just being nice." Casey retorts as she knocks the lean brunette's feet off her desk. "And get your feet off my furniture. You aren't at home."

Abbie holds up her hands in surrender as she stands up from Casey's chair. "Alright, alright, Miss 'It's not a thing'. I believe you. For now. I'm just saying. It looks like you're rather smitten with her. Never seen someone show so much interest in a stripper before."

Casey shrugs and sits down at her desk before she turns on her laptop and mumbles to her self, "Yeah, well, someone's got to…"

_**Later That Night (Or Early The Next Morning) **_

Casey's eyes pop open at the loud crash of thunder outside her window. One thing she will never understand is how it can snow several inches one night and then there be a raging thunderstorm the very next. If she listens hard enough, she swear that she can hear the telltale sound of hale slamming against her windows.

Groaning, the exhausted attorney sits up in bed and allows her eyes to adjust to the darkness of her bedroom. Just as she is about to lie down and attempt to fall back asleep, she hears what sounds like a banging on her front door and she realizes that that was the noise that woke her up and not the thunder.

Scrambling out of bed, Casey runs her hands through her disheveled crimson hair as she tries not to fall down the stairs making her way to the front door. She hisses and swears under her breath when she comes into contact with one of her arm chairs and she opts for turning on a light so she can at least see something.

As she makes her way to the door, the banging continues and Casey forgoes looking through the peephole as she quickly begins undoing the locks. What she doesn't expect to see is Alex standing on the other side of the threshold, drenched to the bone and shivering uncontrollably, despite being inside the condo complex.

"Alex? What are you doing here? It's three o' clock in the morning." Casey asks sleepily though she is more awake than she was a few minutes ago.

Alex opens her mouth to respond but words don't come easily for her as she wraps her arms around her soaked body and she involuntarily continues to shiver, having walked in the rain for the past thirty minutes.

"M-my landlord threw me out of my apartment…I-I need a place to stay…"

**Leave your thoughts? **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Enjoy!**

The silence in the apartment is heavy against the ferocity of the storm as Casey makes her way back into her living room from the kitchen carrying a warm mug of tea that she has prepared for her early morning guest. She sits the mug down in front now still Alex who is wrapped in a blanket and a pair of dry sweats the attorney has given her. As Casey sits the mug down onto the coffee table, Alex doesn't move, keeping her eyes gazed intently on the black screen of the television.

"I thought you might like some tea." Casey says softly as she nods towards the steaming hot mug. "It might help warm you up, seeing as you walked quite a bit from your apartment to get here. I honestly can't believe that you walked the entire way. I mean, I've never been to your apartment but you mentioned that it took you thirty minutes so that was clearly no easy walk."

A chill involuntarily runs through Alex's body once again as she simply thinks of the thirty meant walked she had endured just to get from her apartment to where she is now. She doesn't say anything as she glances down at the mug and then back up to the blank screen, determined to stand her ground.

"Thank you, for letting me in." she says after a long and heavy silence. "I'll be out tomorrow as soon as I can. I'll go back to my old apartment and get my stuff and move in with one of the girls from the club for a while until I can afford a new place."

"Or you could just stay here." Casey says with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. "It would be much simpler than finding a way back to your apartment and then moving all of your stuff to someone else's apartment."

This time, Alex's eyes snap from the television. "Why?" she says flatly with a frown playing at her features. "I am still a perfect stranger to you, much less a stripper from a club who tried to steal from you. Why in the hell would you even want me of all people living in your apartment?"

Casey shrugs her shoulders once again before running her hand through her hair. "I offered because I know that even though you stole from me, that isn't who you are. You're not a thief; you're just someone who is struggling to."

"So what, you want me in your apartment so it'll make it easier for you to sneak in at night so you can take advantage of me? So it will be easier for you to have your way with me and even rape me if you please?"

"That escalated far too much, far too quickly. Alex, I am an attorney who puts people like that away. Why on earth would I invite you into my own home so I could break that oath? I would never take advantage of anyone, much less someone I'm inviting into my own home."

Alex closes her mouth and draws her knees up to her chest before she rests her chin on them. "I don't want to be a burden to you and more than I already am. You have already done so much for me; almost too much and you haven't asked for anything in return. You've given me extra money and I haven't even had to do anything extra for you. I haven't had to sleep with you or anything of the like, but you've done so much…"

Casey raises her eyebrows before she slightly tilts her head to the side. "Has anyone ever paid you to sleep with them?" she asks softly and carefully.

"It was only once. This one woman at the club said she would pay me double whatever I made that night if I went home with her and slept with her. I feel sick to my stomach whenever I recall that incident, simply because I remind my self that I actually thought about it. I actually considered sleeping with that woman for double what I had already made for the night. I of course turned down her offer, but every time I think about that particular incident, I am reminded of just how desperate I really am for money. Then you come out of nowhere and just start offering me things and I just…I just can't believe that you don't even want anything back. And that's why I can't stay here. I have no way of repaying you because I know that I should."

"Alex, I already told you. You don't have to pay me back for anything and it really is no trouble at all for you to stay here. I clearly do have the space. There is an extra bedroom down here and two extra bedrooms upstairs. I have more than enough room and there is no possible way that you could be in my way either. I can drive you to your apartment later on and we can get your stuff together and bring it back here. Really Alex, it's no trouble at all. If I had any inkling that this would be trouble, a burden, a bad idea, or all of the above, I wouldn't have offered at all, but I know that it won't cause any trouble. What do you say?"

After yet another long and intense silence, Alex hesitantly nods her head, feeling like she would lose the argument if she continued to fight against the idea. "Thank you…" she murmurs quietly before she leans forward and takes the mug off of the coffee table. She brings the warm liquid and inhales its scent for a moment before she takes a long sip, moaning quietly as the taste of herb and lemon pleasurably assault her senses. "This tea is really good. It's not like any normal tea, is it?"

"Nope. It's my Mama's special recipe. She has a lot of special recipe's for a lot of things actually, but one of my favorites is her tea." Casey says with a light chuckle before she feels that the atmosphere is finally comfortable enough for her to plop down onto the sofa next to the blonde.

Alex takes another sip of her tea before she sets the mug back down onto the coffee table, this time noticing a notepad and a file sitting there. A tiny frown creases across her face as she leans forward and carefully takes the two items off of the table. She flinches and nearly jumps as she suddenly feels Casey's hand on her arm.

"I um…I probably shouldn't let you read that." the redhead says quietly as she gestures towards the file.

Alex nods her head before she hands over the folder but continues to keep the notepad securely in her hands. She watches for any objections before she turns her attention to the handwriting scribbled across the paper, giggling quietly after a few seconds. "You have the prettiest handwriting." She says softly, though the sarcasm is clearly evident in her tone of voice.

Casey laughs as well and shrugs her shoulders as she tosses the file back onto the coffee table. "Yeah well, when I'm in a hurry and my thoughts are all over the place, I just kind of write any kind of way. That's supposed to be the start of my opening statements for the latest case I've got. Man left a trail of raped and battered women in his wake. Thankfully, no one was killed, but that still doesn't make it any less sickening to stand in front of him in a courtroom and listen to him plead not guilty when there is more than enough evidence to convict him."

"I see. How long have you been out of law school?"

"Only two years. A lot of people think I'm far too young and inexperienced for this job, but I've made it my goal to prove them wrong."

"Two years and you've already been handed your own unit. I'm pretty impressed." Alex states with a nod of her head.

Casey shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly as if the thought isn't that much of a big deal. "Yeah, well. Before I got there, Special Victims was pretty much a revolving door of ADAs. Abbie worked their cases for a little bit before I came and they just put me there and she went back to homicide."

Alex hums and nods as she allows her eyes to glide over the notepad once again. She leans forward and picks up the pen from the table before she taps it against her chin before she begins scribbling things across the sheet of paper.

Casey watches with silent curiosity as she watches Alex scribble several things on her notepad, making large circles and arrows every now and again as well as underlining and starring a few things. A few moments later, the blonde finishes, and beckons for her to come closer.

"I-I hope you don't mind…I just…what you had was really good, no doubt about that. But based on personal preference, I put what I think you should add to it as well." Alex says before she points to the paper where she has starred and circled and drawn a few arrows. "See, look. I feel if you begin with this instead of using it a transition towards the middle, you'll have a much better chance of capturing the jury's attention first off. See, the thing is that you want to get them emotionally involved in the case early on and get them on your side of the tracks before the defense gets a hold to them. You want to make them look at it as if they are looking at it from one of the victim's points of view. Also, the key to having a strong opening is to not only get the jury on your side but to also let the defense, defendant, and the judge know that you mean business."

After reading her newly revised opening statements, Casey can't help chuckle. "Wow, Alex this…this is really good." She says in utter amazement. "Really, I—wow, I'm impressed. You're really good."

A feint blush appears on Alex's face as she shrugs her shoulders. "It's not a big deal. I…it's not even that much. I just came up with that off the top of my head. Like I said, I hope you don't mind. I wasn't trying to say anything by doing that I just…I don't know."

"No, no, it's okay, it's…wow. Really Alex, I'm really impressed with this. You must be doing really good in law school to already have an opening like this. Jesus, I don't even think I've seen Abbie write anything this good on her face try."

"It really wasn't that great, Casey."

"Yeah, not that great. Sure." Casey says sarcastically as she shakes her head.

Alex shrugs again and takes another sip of her warm tea. "Well, thanks. I just…gotta finish paying off some things so I can get out of there. Get me a real job and leave whatever this is behind."

"Well, I believe that you'll be able to do it. You're a smart woman who shows amazing potential. There's no doubt in my mind that says you won't dominate a courtroom one day." Casey says before she stands up and stretches. "C'mon, I'm tired and I know you are too. I'll show you where you can sleep."

* * *

It seems like Casey has literally only just fallen back asleep when she is awoken by another banging on her front door. She groans in frustration as she literally rolls over and falls out of bed, tumbling to the floor in a flare of tangled sheets and pillows. Her eyes close and she groans once more, before she forces her self to her feet.

"I'm coming. I'm coming." She grumbles allowed as she stumbles her way through the foyer towards the front door. She quickly undoes the locks and swings the door open, not caring who it is on the other side of her door. "What…"

"Wow, you look like…long night?" Kim exclaims as she shuffles past Casey into the condo with out exactly being invited it. "Jesus Case, were you still asleep? It's almost twelve thirty in the afternoon!"

"Is it?" Casey yawns, rubbing her eyes as she tries to make out the numberings on her wall clock. "I don't care if it's noon thirty. I was still sleep. What are you doing here anyway? And what's in that box?"

Kim's eyes narrow and her mouth forms a thin line. "Did you just say noon thirty?" she deadpans before shaking her head. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. And I brought donuts!"

Casey frowns as she tries once again to rub the sleep away from her eyes. "Donuts at noon? You know what, no, it doesn't matter, I don't care. You still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"Wow, you must've really had a long night. We talked yesterday about how we could go over openings together. Call me insane, but I am fairly sure you said noon." Kim trails off as she glances at her watch.

"Oh…right." Casey recalls, smacking her self in the face from forgetting. "Right, uh, sorry. It must've slipped my mind that you were coming. Um…maybe, now isn't such a good time?" she says carefully, suddenly recalling that Alex is occupying one of her guest bedrooms.

Kim quirks an eyebrow as she sits the box on the coffee table. "Okay, seriously? I know that you might not be keen on the idea of having to work with someone else all of a sudden, but I can't keep rescheduling like this. I do need to be brought up to speed on something Casey. '

Casey closes her eyes and nods her head as she resists the urge to pace her living room. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. Like you said, I'm not used to working with anyone else. And you wanted to be transferred to SVU?"

"I wanted to be transferred anywhere else other than where I was." the shorter woman replies, before a look of confusion passes across her face. "Why do you keep looking at the stairs? Is something about to come down there in a moment?"

"No reason. No. Nothing. I just…ah, continue. Your transfer?"

"Oh, right. Um, well, I mentioned to Liz that I wouldn't mind being transferred and she felt that homicide doesn't need three of us so she sent me to SVU. Like I said, I wasn't looking to be transferred there, but I'm not going to complain about it."

"Right." Casey says with a sigh as she nods her head. She opens her mouth to say something else, but is abruptly cut off by her name being called which instantly causes her to wince.

"Casey?" Alex says sleepily rubbing her eyes as she makes her way down the stairs. As she reaches the bottom, she notices the strange woman suddenly occupying the apartment. "Oh. Um. Hello."

Kim quirks an eyebrow as she immediately recognizes the blonde as the woman from the office not too long ago; the woman she kept getting that vibe from.

A look of panic flashes across Casey's face and as soon as it's there, it's gone. "Hey, Alex, ah, I, ah…this is…ah."

"Kim Greylek." The shorter attorney offers quickly seeing that Casey is fumbling over her words.

"Oh, um, hi. I'm Alex." Alex says managing a smile as she purposefully leaves out her last name. She steps forward and extends her hand in greeting, but her smile slightly fades when Kim doesn't respond to the gesture but simply glances at her hand dismissively. "Okay then…um…it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Kim manages with a tight smile.

Alex eyes the strange woman for a moment before she clears her throat. "So um, are you Casey's…"

"Friend. We are just friends." Casey responds quickly with widened eyes. "We work together. Kim's just here to going over a case. You can…go on up and go back to sleep. We'll try not to disturb you."

Alex nods her head and manages a small smile. "Okay…it was nice meeting you, Kim." She says nicely before she deems it safe to disappear back upstairs.

Kim makes a noise that sounds like a cross between a hum and a grunt of disgust before she turns to Casey. "Who, was that?"

"Friend that needs a place to stay for a while." Casey states quickly before she quickly snags a donut.

"And what does said friend do for a living?"

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not, but I was just curious. Something seems a bit off about her."

Casey's head snaps up before she shrugs her shoulders. "Nothing is 'off' about her. She's just a friend who needs a place to stay and I'm just helping her out. You don't see me raiding your apartment wondering who all you have staying there."

"That's because I live alone." Kim states before she shakes her head dismissively. "Are we going to go over this case or not?"

"Sure, might as well…"

**Happy Thanksgiving guys! Don't forget to leave your feedback :3 **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Chapter for you :3**

"I don't think your friend liked me too much." Alex says as they reenter Casey's condo with the last of her things that she has moved from her apartment.

Casey sighs and drags her fingers through her hair as she plops down into the comfort of her couch. "I'm really sorry about…her. To be honest, I don't think that she likes anyone too much so try not to take it personally."

Alex bites down on her lower lip and hesitantly nods her head before she wraps her arms around her body and lowers her self into one of Casey's seating chairs. "Listen, if me staying here is going to cause any problems between you and your friends, then I really don't mind going to find some place to stay. I'm sure that I could find someone to stay with without any troubles. I really don't want to be of any inconvenience to you or anything. Clearly me staying here has already drawed some bad blood between you and your…friend right?"

"Yes, friend, she is just my friend. That's all we are. Friends. I honestly don't know what her problem is, but she has a little bit of…a negative attitude half to time but she's an okay person. Please just don't let her offend you and I'm sorry that she did. There really is no problem with you staying with me. No problem at all."

"Casey, please get real here for a second. How would it look if suddenly all of your friends found out that you were letting a broke stripper stay with you at your apartment? What would they think? Something tells me that it wouldn't be one of the easiest situations you would have been in, am I wrong? I don't want to embarrass you or anything. I mean…look at me. Kim has aristocracy radiating off of her when I literally am nothing more than common gutter trash…"

"Hey, don't say that." Casey says firmly as she stands up from her place on the couch. "Don't look at your self like that. I've already told you. You're a very intelligent woman who is going somewhere in her life but you're just going through a really rough time right now. Please. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I just wish things weren't so hard, with money…" Alex says quietly with a shake of her head before she stands up once again. "Thank you for helping me move my stuff. I know that you had much more interesting ways to spend your Saturday other than helping me of all people."

Casey smiles and shrugs her shoulders. "I told you, it's no problem. So, what do you have planned for the rest of the evening?"

A feint blush appears on Alex's face as she averts her eyes to the floor. "I actually have to be at work pretty soon. Fridays and Saturdays tend to be some of the busiest days out of the week and a lot of the customers that go on those particular nights that pay and tip really well."

"You…um…you don't have to keep stripping you know. I could just…"

"Please. Moving in with you is already hard on me enough because I feel like I'm in the way. I can't have you willingly giving me money as well. I can manage on my own with this. I—I need to go get ready."

Casey desperately wants to argue but she closes her mouth and nods her head as she realizes she would lose the argument with the rather persistent woman. She can understand how Alex can be so hesitant to trust people, especially when it comes to her personal life. She just wishes that the blonde wasn't so closed off and keen on doing everything on her own. When she started caring so much, Casey has no idea; but she does know that she isn't just going to sit back and allow this woman to suffer. Not if she has anything to say about it.

About fifteen to twenty minutes later, Alex descends the stairs once more with her coat wrapped tightly around her body. She catches Casey staring at her and she tilts her head in slight confusion at the look she's getting. "What?"

"Ah, uh, n-nothing." Casey stammers as she shakes her head, realizing that she had been caught staring. "Um, do you want me to drive you there? So you don't have to walk or take crappy public transportation? It's really cold out."

Alex shakes her head and manages a smile, tiny smile. "Thank you, but I think that I can manage to get there on my own. Really. You've done enough."

"Alex are you sure? You know that I don't min-"

"I'm sure Casey. I can get there and back on my own. You just stay here and keep your self comfortable. Maybe even call your girlfriend over to keep you company." Alex says quietly before she makes her exit.

Casey's eyes widen and she groans audibly as she sinks further down into the sofa. "She is NOT my girlfriend!"

* * *

"Ali, are you alright? You seem a little off."

Alex blinks her self back into reality and turns to her right where she finds a shorter brunette eyeing her with genuine worry and confusion. She shakes her head and manages a sad smile. "No Chlo, I'm alright. I'm just tired, that's all. I've had to move recently."

The younger girl, Chloe, raises her eyebrows in worry and her mouth slightly falls open. "Oh my gosh, is everything alright? Do you need anything?"

"No, no. Well, money would be nice, but that's why I'm here right?" Alex responds with a sad chuckle and then a defeated sigh. "Just wish things weren't so hard right now, that's all."

"I hear ya." Chloe answers with a sad sigh of her own. She nudges the taller blonde before she nods her head in a direction across the club. "Hey, that woman over there has been eyeing you pretty heavily for the better part of the night, and I would say that I don't think she looks like a murderer or anything."

Alex follows Chloe's gaze, and sure enough there is a woman sitting at a secluded table across the club eyeing her with hunger. Judging by the woman's choice of clothing and posture, Alex is able to deduce that she has money, and quite a bit of it for the matter of fact. She raises her eyebrows when the woman bites down on her bottom lip and makes a 'come hither' motion with her finger.

"I guess that's me queue then, huh Chlo?" Alex says with a small internally sigh before she puts on a sexy grin and seductively begins to strut her way across the club towards the table. As she approaches the woman's table, her grin widens as she begins to try to reel in her customer. "I noticed that you wished to see me?"

"Mmm, how could I not when you looked absolutely delicious from standing over there." the woman purrs as her eyes rake up and down the blonde's half naked body. "You willing to dance for me, baby?"

"More than happy to." Alex replies in a sultry manner before she takes the woman's hand and leads her back to one of the private rooms. She pushes her down onto the sofa and immediately begins her typical routine.

The woman growls once more at the sight of the dancer's hips moving back and forth in front of her face. "I'm Nikki. What's your name baby?"

"Angel." The dancer replies innocently as she continues on with her dance and begins to undress, grinding into Nikki's lap.

"Well you have a damn fine way of showing your customers a good time." Nikki replies, licking her lips as she admires the blonde's 'assets'. "What're you making here tonight baby?"

Alex shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly, a little curious on why she is being asked such question. "I dunno. Whatever I take home."

The woman hums for a moment and raises an eyebrow inquisitively. "Well how would you like to make three times that much?"

The question immediately causes Alex to internally stiffen as she has flashbacks on that particular night not to long ago. This isn't the same woman, but it's the exact same situation, and she knows just what's coming next. "What…what do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking…you come home with me, we have a little fun for a little bit, I'll give you three times what you've made tonight. So say you only make a hundred. You'll have your hundred, but I'll pay you three. How's that sound?"

"I-I don't know…"

"C'mon Baby. Just for a little bit."

Alex feels her throat go dry as she recalls being asked such a similar question and once again she is faced with the similar dilemma she was the first time around; decisions. It is a larger sum of money and she is struggling at the moment, but is she really willing to trade away her dignity for that? She is about to quickly decline when she suddenly recalls how much in debt she feels to Casey. She feels that the redhead has done so much for her already she feels that she at least needs to pay her back something…right?

Closing her eyes, Alex exhales silently before she manages a small smile. "I'll go get my things." she says quietly, slipping back into her outfit before she exits the room. She makes her way to the back and slowly changes into more appropriate clothing for the weather before she slips on her coat and grabs her purse.

As she makes her way out of the back changing room, she spots Nikki waiting for her and as she is about to approach the slightly taller woman, Alex feels a hand gripping her forearm tightly that nearly causes her to yelp. She finds her self spun around only to be faced with a pair of disappointed yet fierce brown eyes. "Jesus Abbie, what the fuck?!"

"Don't think I don't know what you're about to go do." Abbie hisses quietly before she nods her head towards the front door. "Alex, don't do this. You know you're better than that."

"Don't you fucking tell me what to do Abigail. This is my life, not yours." Alex hisses back as she snatches her arm away. "You have no idea what I'm going through right now, so just go back to your little titty party with Chloe and Taylor over there and leave me the fuck alone."

"Alex, I'm serious. Don't go doing something you'll regret, and you know that you're going to regret this later. Please just, just go home and sort things out in your head, but do not leave with that woman and do what we both know you're about to do."

"Stay out of my business Abbie. Worry about yourself." Alex states firmly before she spins on her heel and makes her way over towards the waiting woman, though the dark haired attorney's words continue to ring in her head as she forces a smile. "Ready to go."

**Later **

Dirty. Unclean. Disgusting. Vile. Foul. Soiled. Smutty Unsanitary. Grimy. Ruined. Sickening. Nasty. Contaminated. Filthy. Polluted. Gross. Just. Plain. Dirty.

All of those words are Alex's feelings wrapped up into one, teeny, tiny, worthless fragment of a sentence. Most of the words are pure and complete understatements to what she is really feeling. Not once in her life has she ever been more disgusted with her self and so full of regret. She should have listened.

She stares blankly at the ceiling of the rich woman's bedroom inside of the rich woman's flashy penthouse with said rich woman stroking her hair as if she were a precious kitten. Each stroke causes her heart to sink lower and lower as she realizes just what it is that she has done. How she has defaced her self with in the span of two to three hours at least.

"You were good baby girl." Nikki chuckles as she leans over and kisses the blonde on the cheek, chuckling once more when she feels the woman slightly flinch. She turns over and reaches over to the end table where she fiddles with something for a moment before turning back to her bedmate. "You've earned it. You said you made three fifty tonight, here's ten fifty solid."

Alex hesitantly takes the money being offered to her before she shakily climbs out of the bed. She swallows the reappearing lump in her throat as she slips back into her clothes and mutters something that sounds much like a 'thank you', before she makes her exit, finally comfortable enough to let the tears fall down her face.

Once back at her apartment, or rather, Casey's apartment, Alex has absolutely no idea of what time it is, but then again, she doesn't exactly care. She lets her self in, making sure to be as quiet as possible as she makes her way over to the couch where she sits down, and pulls her earnings from her pocket.

Just as she lies all of the money out on the coffee table to count it, the light suddenly flips on, nearly scaring her half to death. "Shit…damnit Casey, you scared me."

Casey nods her head and raises her eyebrows as she glances at the clock. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. What…what're you doing back so late? It's almost two in the morning."

"I-I know…things…things at the club just ran late…" Alex stutters before she turns back to her money. "I'm sorry if my noise woke you."

"No, you didn't wake me. I'm a really light sleeper to begin with." Casey responds, frowning when she notices the excessive sum of cash sitting on her coffee table. "Whoa. Where did that come from?"

"Working." Alex murmurs quietly and shamefully.

Casey frowns once more as she realizes there is something being portrayed in the blonde's voice that she is trying to hide. "Alex? Are you alright?"

"F-fine…I'm fine…why do you ask?" the blonde stutters in response as she refuses to look away from what she's doing.

"Because…there's…there's just over thirteen hundred dollars sitting on my coffee table." Casey replies before her eyes widen. "What did you do to get that money?"

Alex's eyes widen as well and her blood runs cold. "Nothing." She squeaks, cursing her voice for giving out on her at the last second.

Casey closes her eyes and runs her fingers through her hair. "Alex, tell me…tell me you didn't…"

"What if I did." Alex snaps angrily as she shoots up from the couch, storming over to where Casey is standing. "I only did it so I can pay you back."

"I told you, you didn't have to do that!" the redhead exclaims, trying not to raise her voice any louder than need be.

"Yeah, like you really meant that. What's it matter to you anyway, what I go out and do? Don't you have your fucking girlfriend to worry about." Alex spits venomously before she throws a handful of cash at Casey and hastily disappears up the stairs with out another word.

"For the last time, she is not my-" Casey pauses when she hears the door slam and she sighs heavily. "…girlfriend…"

**There has to be at least one of you that had to have seen that coming. Or maybe not. Ah well, anyway, leave your thoughts? **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Early chapter for you guys. Kind of a filler. Enjoy :3 **

"Nearly all of the evidence is circumstantial and has a potential to be thrown out, not to mention detectives went into my client's home without a warrant which would have been impossible to get to begin with what with the lack of evidence to this case."

"Detectives entered the suspect's home because they heard gunfire. As officers of the law, their motto is to 'protect and serve' is it not? Therefore, they had damn good reason for barging in the way they did. Not to mention the fact that Detective Rollins was shot upon entrance."

"There is no proof that my client fired a gun prior to police interference. My client only fired because he felt as if he and his household were threatened. Plus had Detective Rollins been wearing a vest, the bullet would not have gone through."

"It was a routine check. How were they supposed to know that there were going to be gunshots ringing through the house went they went to speak to a potential suspect?"

"It was reckless behavior, Counselor."

"Yes, reckless behavior by the suspect that now has one of my detectives fighting for her life." Casey snaps, groaning when she feels the dull thud behind her eyes beginning to intensify. "We are going to be fried. You honestly think the defense would hit us with all of that?"

"There is a strong possibility. There are a lot of holes in this case." Kim replies with a small shrug, having shifted out of their strategic role play in order to see where they can get with said case. "You and I both know fairly well that it made sense for the two of them to enter the house unwarranted upon hearing gunfire, but the defense may use that against us, still emphasizing the fact that they didn't have a warrant to begin with. Worst comes to worst, this is only going to be a game of 'He said She said'. There were only three people there and one of them is unresponsive. With Amanda in the hospital and incapacitated, it's going to be Olivia's word against the suspect's. He's saying that there was no initial gunfire prior to the detectives quote unquote 'barging in'. He is saying there was no gunfire until detectives entered his home in which he assumed they were robbers or anything of the like preparing to attack him. With that damn law reissued in the state, citizens do have a right to defend their property. With the lack of evidence, if she dies, there is a high chance that he could walk away freely with capital murder of a police officer."

Casey groans once more and roughly drags her fingers through her hair, her tired eyes staring at the papers that are scattered across her desk. "This entire case is just one huge mess. If this guy walks, that just puts more women in danger but it also leaves us down one detective. And there are no other witnesses?"

Kim continues to shift through her stack of papers as she shakes her head. "No one saw or heard anything other than those three people; Liv, Amanda, and the suspect. Had this been before New York adopted the 'Stand your ground' rule, this would not be an issue, but since it has...There is a possibility he could get away with all of this. There isn't enough evidence to convict him on the rape charges, and if the jury sides with him on the shooting, then he can't be held for shooting a cop because he's pleading that it was self defense."

"How is it there is not one person that heard anything!? Someone _had_ to have heard something and they just aren't talking because gunshots are in no way quiet."

"In that neighborhood, they might've just become accustomed to such noises. When I first moved here, I had trouble sleeping because of the constant street noise. I finally got used to it. Well, before I had my apartment sound proofed, but I doubt anyone in that neighborhood has a sound proofed house."

"This is stressing me out." Casey murmurs with a shake of her head. She winces and grits her teeth together as she starts rubbing irritably at the back of her neck. "Damnit…"

"What's wrong?" the other attorney asks cautiously, noting the look of pain etched across her colleague's face.

"Nothing. I just-ah…I haven't been sleeping to well at night, plus all of this stress…I guess it's finally starting to catch up with me."

"Here, let me help."

Casey's eyebrows immediately shoot into her hairline as she straightens up. "What're you gonna do?"

Kim rolls her eyes and mutters something incoherent under her breath. "I'm going to help you get some of those knots out of your neck." she states as she stands behind the redhead's chair. "I'm not going to strangle you or anything if that's what you're thinking."

"N-no, of course not. W-why would I think such a thing?" Casey stammers quietly, flinching when she feels hands descend upon her shoulders. She stays on edge for a moment before she easily succumbs to the feeling of the tightness being worked away from her muscles. "Jesus…"

"You, are extremely tense my friend. I can tell that this is where you store all of your stress and tension."

"Yeah, I guess I-ohhhh shit, that feels great. Where'd you learn how to do this?"

"My sister dragged me to a class once. It was free so I didn't really have any objections. Figured it might come in handy one day."

"Well, you figured correctly. Damn."

Kim chuckles as she moves her hands from Casey's neck down to her shoulders once more. "So…is that woman still staying with you?" she asks curiously, as if to appear to be nonchalant.

Casey hums and suppresses the moan that escapes her lips in order to answer the question. "Y-yeah, she is. She got kicked out of her apartment and she needed a place to stay so I offered."

"Hm. Well, that was very nice of you. You know, you never really did tell me what it is that she does exactly."

"Well, um. Between you at me. She's a…dancer. Who works at a club."

"So is that layman dialogue for, she's a stripper?"

"Yeah."

Kim's motions pause briefly before she clears her throat and continues. "Wow. Never did really peg you to be one to even go to a strip club, let alone meet a woman there and then bring her home to live with you. Sounds more of an Abbie thing to do."

Casey feels a small blush rise to her cheeks. "Yeah, well, she's the one who dragged me there in the first place. But don't tell her I told you that. She'd gut me like a fish if I did."

"I am still trying to get her to realize that she has no chance with me, but no worries, I won't tell her you told me. I'm not surprised anyway. But back to the stripper. You're seriously letting her live with you?"

"Yeah," Casey repeats, popping an eye open. "She um…you were a little icy that day that you met her. She really doesn't think you like her all that much."

"Kim? Like someone? Never." Serena states with a chuckle as she suddenly appears in the doorway. "Whoa, what's going on in here? Am I interrupting something…intimate?"

Both woman on the other side of the room blush furiously, and while Casey finally settles on rolling her eyes, Kim takes it upon her self to show Serena a certain finger.

Serena shakes her head in disapproval at her best friend's antics before she smiles widely. "So what are we talking about?"

"We were just discussing how Case is letting a stripper live with her." Kim says blandly once more.

Serena's mouth falls open as she looks to Casey for any kind of response. "Is she really a-"

"Yeah." Casey mumbles, still a little lost in her massage. "But it's not a big deal. I'm just trying to help her. She's really…she's really nice, but insecure. And for some odd reason, she has it in her head that Kim is my girlfriend."

If Casey weren't so mesmerized and deep off into the feeling of the soreness being worked away from her tense muscles, she would have caught on to the silent exchange between the other two women occupying her office. Thankfully she missed the gesture of Serena sticking out her tongue, and Kim pointing a finger at the blonde, and bringing that same finger to her neck, slicing across in a decapitation notion.

"Hum. That's…that's interesting." Serena says suggestively with a devious shit eating grin as she leans against the doorway. "That's very interesting."

"It's absurd." Kim mumbles, already plotting her ways to get her revenge on the too smug blonde at the moment. "Well, just be careful Casey. You know how people like that get."

Casey raises an eyebrow in confusion at the statement. "Actually, no, I don't. What do you mean."

"Well, it's kind of like a stray puppy. Once you start feeding it and caring for it, it may never want to leave."

Casey opens her mouth to respond, but once again finds her self interrupted, this time by her Jackie poking her head into the office over Serena's shoulder. "Miss Novak? Could you come help me with something?"

"Sure." Casey responds as she stands up from her chair. "Excuse me ladies."

Serena hums as she steps aside, allowing Casey to leave the office before she turns back to her best friend with that same devilish grin tugging at her lips. "Ooo look, you're sitting in her chair." Serena coos teasingly, a humorous chuckle erupted from her throat.

"I know how to make a body disappear." Kim states with narrowed eyes as she points a letter opener at the smug blonde. "Don't say anything else."

"Yeah right. Asking me not to talk is like asking time to stand still. So, you met her? What's she like? Was she nice?"

"I told you I knew she was a stripper. And she was…eh. Not anything special I guess. Kinda reminds me of your cousin Tina."

"…My cousin Tina is a prostitute."

"My point exactly."

Serena folds her arms and sighs heavily before she shakes her head. "I love you to death, I swear I do, but sometimes, you are really, really shallow." She says quietly, jumping and screaming when she feels an unknown presence appear behind her and tap her on the shoulder. "Holy sh-What the fuck!?"

"Sorry." Abbie apologizes as she attempts to hold in her laugh. She frowns when she steps into the room and doesn't see her best friend anywhere. "Where's Casey? I mean…this is her office, right?"

"Yeah, but she stepped out to help Jackie with something." Kim replies as she suddenly becomes interested in her fingernails, deeming it time for her two week manicure once again. "I'm sure if you write whatever it is on a post-it note, she'll get back to you."

Abbie quirks an eyebrow at the brunette's dismissive nature before she briefly turns back to Serena who simply shrugs. "Uh, no thanks. I need to talk to her about something pretty important. So I think I'll wait."

Kim narrows her eyes and rolls them before she busies her self with arranging and rearranging the things sprawled haphazardly across Casey's desk. She comes across a small note that has the name 'Alexandra Cabot' scribbled across the top of it, along with other information. Making sure that Abbie and Serena are occupied in conversing with one another, she glances over the note once more, her eyes widening as everything starts to click.

_'So that's who you are…' _

**Hm…leave your thoughts? **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: More secrets exposed in this chapter :) **

One time. One times was one time too many. At least, that is what she told her self. One time should have been the only time. But because she felt it was so simple, one time, because two, and two quickly became three and three quickly became four. By that fourth time, she was completely disgusted with her self. By that fourth time, she felt that she put an entirely new meaning to the term, 'common gutter trash'. By that fourth time, she felt sick to her stomach. Had she just sold off her body for a few sleazy hours in return for money? The answer is plain and simple. Yes. Yes she had.

She lies there the fourth time, with a fourth woman, a fourth different woman, who stated she was willing to pay here if she went home with her and did what she wanted. As she feels the weight of a body over hers, as well as a hand between her legs, her mind begins to wander. Her mind begins to wander back to her teenaged years when her older sister looked at her and told her that the only thing she would be good at doing was lying on her back and letting other people have their way with her. As her sister's voice rings in her ears, she can't help but realize that she was right.

Kisses. Touches. Bites. Licks. Strokes. Thrusts. Sweat. Skin. Soft then hard. Rough then gentle. Fast then slow. Eyes close. Body stills. Climax reaches. Then it's all repeated once again.

She closes her eyes and squeezes them tightly together in order to keep her tears from falling. She doesn't want this woman to see her cry. She doesn't want anyone to have the satisfaction of seeing her cry; of seeing just how week she really is. At first she doesn't know why she's crying, but then she realizes. Her conscience makes her realize. She is crying because at this moment, this very moment, this very hot, steamy, and lust filled moment, she realizes that no one has ever made love to her. Not once in her life has there ever been a time that anyone has showed that they really love her. She has never been touched with affection. No one has ever looked at her like she is their heart's desire. No one has ever 'worshiped' her body. She has never been loved.

What's happening now, that isn't worship. At least, she doesn't think it is. She thinks that it is lustful need and want. She thinks that it is just an out for a release of tight sexual tension. That's what she thinks it is. No. That's what she knows it is.

Her body reacts on its own. It reaches it's climax once more and begins to descend from the high all on it's own. It doesn't even bother to ask her permission. It just acts automatically and does it all on it's own.

She blinks her self back to reality when she feels lips pressed against her own. She doesn't respond to the kiss, but she just simply goes through the motions of letting it happen. As she feels a hand gently stroking her hair, she wonders when she let her self get this low. No. She knows when she got this low. She just wants to know how.

"You were really good." The phrase is spoken followed by a low chuckle. It's a phrase she's heard spoken all of those times before now. The first, the second, the third, and now the fourth.

The body lying atop of hers rolls over to the other side of the bed and wraps an arm tightly around her, succeeding in pulling her closer and keeping her from moving or going anywhere else for the night. And that's exactly how she lies for the rest of the night.

She lies like that for the rest of the night and on into morning where she finds her self still staring at the same spot on the wall, only now that spot is illuminated by sunlight seeping in from the outside. She has no idea how long she has been staring wide eyed at the spot, but she knows that it has been quite sometime for she feels the presence behind her shift and make the telltale sounds of one who is just waking up from a rather peaceful slumber.

"You should probably get going." The woman says as she retracts her arms from around the blonde's waist and turns over to lie on her back.

Alex frowns and immediately the statement draws her out of her stupor. "W-what? I-I…"

"What? You honestly didn't think we were going to hang around and have breakfast this morning, did you?"

"Well, no, but I-you promised me money."

"I didn't, promise, anything."

And there it is. There is where her heart sinks to the pit of her stomach and she realizes what's happening. She should have known that life is never this simple and she should have known that this was bound to happen. She should have been smarter.

"You said you would pay me, if I came home with you. And I did. I did, and I let you do whatever it is you wanted to do to me. You-you owe me money."

"Get out."

"But-"

"GET OUT."

The sudden and rather forceful shout startled Alex and causes her to tumble over the edge of the bed. She quickly fumbles back into her clothes and leaves without risking a look back at the woman glaring deathly holes into her from the bed. She leaves and runs as far as she can before she stops and wraps her arms around her self, pulling her coat tighter against the body against the harsh morning air.

Morning. Fuck. She glances at her watch and looks a round, realizing that she has absolutely no idea of where she is. She bites down on her bottom lip and wanders around for a few minutes, trying to catch a street that she would recognize.

Finally, Alex settles on wandering into a vacant looking floral shop where she finds a small elderly woman wandering through the shelves of flowers. "Um, excuse me Ma'am." She says quietly, attempting not to startle the woman.

The woman looks up from what she's doing and smiles at the young woman that has just entered her shop. "Yes dear? What can I do for you?"

"I-I um…I need to know how to get to Bakers Street. Do you know how far that is from here?"

"It's only three blocks over sweetie. It shouldn't be that far of a walk at all." the woman replies, a small frown playing at her features when she takes in just how troubled the young lady appears to be. "Is everything alright dear?"

Alex quickly nods her head and forces a wide convincing smile. "Yes Ma'am. Everything is fine. I just needed directions. Thank you Ma'am." She says quickly before she leaves the shop to avoid anymore questioning. She wraps her coat tighter around her self once more before she begins her three block adventure.

* * *

Brenda Jackson is a woman who is in her late sixties heading onto her early seventies. She gazes down at the beautiful little blonde girl sleeping soundly across her lap and a small smile plays across her lips as she sees the relaxation upon the little girl's face. She sighs quietly and gently brushes a stray strand of hair away from the little girl's forehead as she continues to rock them back and fourth in the rocking chair.

Glancing at the time, Brenda shakes her head and continues to rock back and fourth, making sure to keep the four year old sound asleep. "Mmm, mmm, mmm. Where is your Mommy, child." She whispers quietly to the little girl, though she know that there is no way that the child can answer her at the given moment.

As if on cue, ,she hears a light knocking on her front door, and she carefully stands up, gently carrying the little girl over to the couch where she softly lies her down and then proceeds to the door. She smoothes out her apron before she opens the door to see none other than said mother standing on the other side of the threshold, with her fist poised and ready to continue knocking.

"I was just wondering where you were." Brenda says as she steps aside to let the woman in. "Be quiet now. The little one is sleeping."

"I am so, so, so sorry Mrs. Jackson. I tried to get here as soon as I could, really. I tried calling yesterday, but there really wasn't a way that I could, and I just-I'm really sorry." Alex rambles quietly as she follows the elderly woman into the living room.

Brenda manages a small smile and holds up her hand to sign for the blonde to cease her rambling. "It's alright, dear. I understand." She says quietly before she glances at the still slumbering child on the sofa. "You would think that she works a day job with how much she sleeps."

Alex chuckles quietly and makes her way over to the sofa where she sits down and carefully moves her little girl into her arms. "I know. She has a lot going on in that brain of hers I guess." She says softly before she looks up at the older woman. "Listen, Mrs. Jackson, I-I have money for you. It's not all of it, and I can get you the rest when I can."

Brenda shakes her head and holds up her hands. "Keep your money dear. It is the least I can do for what I am about to tell you." she says softly before she sighs. "I'm getting up there in age Alexandra, and I'm afraid that my babysitting days are starting to come to an end. I don't know if it's going to be at all possible for me to continue to watch her. I'm tired Alexandra."

Alex's heart sinks once again before she turns her gaze to her daughter and nods. "Yes Ma'am. I understand completely. I don't want to inconvenience you at all."

"Do you have a place to stay dear?"

"Oh, yes, Ma'am, yes Ma'am, I do. I just…I'm not sure if Emma will be welcome or not…I haven't…I haven't spoken about her at all, and I'm not sure if the person I'm staying with would want her staying there as well."

A somber look of sadness crosses Brenda's face as she folds her arms, her heart breaking for the young woman in front of her. "I am deeply sorry dear. Really I am."

"No, it's not your fault." Alex says quietly with a shake of her head. "I'll figure things out."

"I'll go get her things." the elderly woman says softly before she turns from the room and disappears up the stairs.

Alex sighs heavily once more and is slightly startled by the stirring body in her arms. She looks down and a small smiles ghosts across her lips when she is met with sleepy blue eyes that match her own. "Hey pretty girl. Did you have a nice nap?"

Emma yawns and snuggles further into her mother's arms as she continues to try and wake up. "Sleepy still." She mumbles quietly before she yawns once more. "Am I going with you Mommy?"

"Yeah, yeah you are sweetie. You're…you're gonna come live with Mommy." Alex responds quietly as she leans down and gives the little girl on her forehead, praying that what is about to happen won't be another downfall in her life.

* * *

Casey grumbles to her self as she drops her keys before she is able to put them into the door. She swears quietly as she bends down to pick them up, this time, successfully, though a little forcefully, jamming them into the lock. She opens the door and resists the urge to slam it shut as she makes her way inside and immediately steps out of her godforsaken heels.

As she proceeds further into her home, she stops dead in her tracks when she sees Alex seated on the couch doing a puzzle with a little girl who looks to be no more than four years old. "Um, Alex? Who…whose kid is that?"

Alex protectively pulls Emma into her lap and takes several deep breaths as she tries to put together something coherent and appropriate to say. She isn't missing the confusion in the attorney's eyes, she just prays it isn't going to be replaced by anger later.

"Casey there's….there's something I-I need to tell you."

**And thus we have it. Another one of Alex's secrets brought into the lighting. Hm. Leave your thoughts? **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry, I fell asleep while writing this. Sorry guys! Lol, enjoy. **

"I um…I graduated from high school about two years early. It could have been two years but my father didn't want me to far ahead. Now I realize it's because he didn't want me to close to Rachel's age that way I couldn't take anything from her. Anyway, I graduated when I was supposed to be a junior. A little part of me was excited, but mostly I was scared out of my mind because I felt I wasn't supposed to be with the older kids. Well, with the 'adults' because that's what they were. So there I was, just barely a seventeen year old in a huge college. I felt like a tiny little goldfish amidst hammerhead sharks, sting rays, killer whales, and anything else that is most definitely bigger than a goldfish. After a little while, things got to be a lot easier for me. I settled into the motions of things, I made a few friends here and there and everything was just fine. Everything was doing well until one evening, my roommate came back telling me that she was taking me to a frat party. I never really was one to go to frat or sorority parties and to be honest; I really didn't want to go. I just wanted to stay in and study, but unfortunately, my roommate's persistence won out and I ended up going. When we got to the frat house, everything was ridiculously loud. There were people singing loudly, dancing ridiculously everywhere, and of course at a college, everyone had a drink in their hand. Most of my friends were there but none of them really paid attention to me and I couldn't find any of them to take me home. God, I wanted to go home so badly but how was I supposed to get there? Especially since it was dark and I wasn't really familiar with the way. I tried to force my self to relax and I found something to drink. I didn't really realize that something was wrong with the punch and that it had been spiked until it was far too late. I felt like my head was going to implode and I could barely stand up, much less remember my own name. What I fuzzily remember is there being a boy who kept saying he would help me. Alarm bells went off in my head and I tried to get away from him, but my body just wouldn't function properly. He took my upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms and he laid me down on the bed. I remember him saying something about it being fun right before he raped me. I don't remember how long it lasted, I don't even remember if I screamed or not. I just know it hurt more than anything I had ever experienced in my whole entire life. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone much like a lot of people from the party. When I actually got up, I realized how much I was hurting and I instantly knew what happened. I found my roommate downstairs looking for me and after that I begged her to take me home. I went home and scrubbed my skin raw and sat underneath the shower until the hot water turned cold. I just…I just wanted to forget about what happened. I didn't want to tell anyone and I didn't even remember what he looked like. I thought everything was back to normal after a while, but then two months later, I found out that I was pregnant. I was so scared after that. I-I knew my only option was to tell my father because I don't believe in abortions and I didn't want to give away my baby. My father hung up on me when I told him and we haven't ever spoken since then. I went through my pregnancy with the help of my friends and I had Emma. Despite what happened, she's honestly the best thing that has ever happened to me and I wouldn't trade her for the word because she's my baby girl. While you were at work during the day, I would go to the woman that was babysitting her and spend time with her. The sitter said she isn't going to be able to watch Emma anymore and I just…I don't know what I'm going to do. If you're upset, I totally get it. I should have told you earlier that I have a child. If you want me to leave, I completely understand. I know I've barged in on you enough with me staying here, I-I couldn't burden you with asking you to take in my daughter as well."

Casey blinks for a moment before she gently rests her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Alex, I'm not going to throw you out just because you have a kid. I'm not angry either. A little shocked and taken by surprise, but I'm not angry. I personally like kids. It's not going to be a problem."

Alex wipes the tears away from her eyes and shakily nods her head. "Thank you…thank you so much. You…you've done more than enough for me. I just…I don't know how to thank you." she exclaims as she moves forward and throws her arms tightly around the redhead.

"It's no problem at all." Casey responds as she returns the hug feeling a small blush appear at her cheeks. "Um, so do you think that she'll like me?"

"There's only one way to find out." Alex states as the two of them reenter the living room once again to find the little blonde still working on her puzzle that is now more than half way finished.

Casey swallows thickly before she puts on her best warm smile before she makes her way over to the four year old who is still occupying her self with the puzzle. She crouches down beside the little girl and gives her a warm smile. "Well hi there. What's your name?"

Emma looks up at the stranger before she glances at her mother who simply nods, before she turns back and speaks in one of the world's tinniest voices. "Emma…" she answers quietly before she ducks her head a little.

"Wow. Emma's a very pretty name. My name's Casey." Casey says as she holds out her hand, a little surprised when the little girl returns the gesture. "It's really nice meeting you. So it looks like you and your Mommy are going to be staying with me for a little while. Is that okay?"

"I guess so…" Emma replies quietly once again before she briefly glances at her puzzle again and slides it over towards the friendly strange woman. "Do you wanna help me? It's almost finished…"

"Cool. That sounds like fun." Casey exclaims with excitement as she gets on her knees and starts helping Emma with the puzzle.

Alex folds her arms tightly across her chest and can't help but smile as she noticed the instant attraction between the two. To be honest, she is thoroughly surprised at how well Casey is able to interact with children, and she suddenly realizes that maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could happen to her.

* * *

Later on that evening, Casey and Alex are sitting side by side on the sofa after Alex has just put Emma to bed. She frowns and looks away from the silent television when she notices the red haired woman hasn't moved in a while.

"Casey? Are you alright?" she asks cautiously, reaching over to touch the attorney on her forearm to bring her back to reality.

Casey blinks a few times before she shakes her head and sighs. "I'm fine. Work is just stressing me out. That's all."

"Do you want to tell me about it? Maybe it would help if you talked about it."

"I…ah…there's this case that's just this huge mess. A lot of the evidence to convict this guy for rape has been thrown out and in the midst of all of that, one of my detectives got shot and she is still in the hospital due to gunshot the wounds."

Alex's eyes widen and she places her hand over her mouth as she gasps. "Oh my god, that's…that's really terrible. Is she…is going to live?"

Casey shakes her head sadly before she shrugs. "No one knows. She's still unresponsive which only adds to the fact that this guy can walk away with damn near killing a cop. It's so frustrating.

"You sound like you need a cheesy Christmas movie." Alex states with a small smile as she begins flipping through the television to find said movie.

"No, c'mon. I'm not really much of a Christmas movie kinda person. They're all the same. Everyone where's really bad sweaters and that one angry guy finds the true meaning of Christmas or whatever."

"You are so superficial. They are not all the same. Come on. We are either watching 'It's a Wonderful Life' or 'Miracle on 34th Street' take your pick."

"How about neither?"

"No, I know what we're going to watch. It suits you perfectly." Alex says with a giggle as she flips the channel once more.

Casey frowns and her mouth falls open when she sees the telltale familiar green character appear on the TV screen. "Hey! I am not a Grinch!" she exclaims before she sits back against the sofa and pouts. "I am much too sexy to be the Grinch."

Alex rolls her eyes as she sets the remote back on the coffee table. "Right." She says sarcastically, her sarcasm dragging out the word.

"Isn't this a children's movie anyway?"

"Do you have to ask so many questions? Just watch the movie."

Casey huffs and folds her arms as she watches the events of the movie play out on the screen. She is silent for about five minutes before she opens her mouth again. "Hey, what is a Grinch anyway? I mean look at him. He's so…is he a person?"

Alex quirks an eyebrow and turns to the attorney with an unreadable expression on her face. "Really Casey?" she deadpans with a shake of her head.

"What? It's a legit question." Casey exclaims in response as she gestures towards her television. "What is that? It's…is it some sort of animal?"

"He's a person with a skin condition…"

"Seriously?"

"I don't know Casey! Just close your mouth and try to watch the movie."

Once again, the movie advances probably for a good fifteen minutes of silence before something happens and once again, Casey feels the need to add in her two cents.

"You know, it would really be more appropriate if the Grinch put on some clothes. He thinks that just because he's hairy that he can just walk around naked. No wonder people like me think that he's an animal. "

"Only you would sit here and start analyzing 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' Casey. No one does that."

"Sure they do!" Casey exclaims before she points to the TV again. "And how come he's so mean to the dog? Why doesn't the dog just run away?"

"Because the dog likes him."

"Nobody else seems to…"

"That's the point of the movie Casey!"

"I thought the point of the movie was for him to realize the true meaning of Christmas? Just like every other cheesy Christmas movie there is."

Alex has absolutely no idea what time it is and she actually has no idea of when she went to sleep. The television is still quietly playing in the back ground and as she shifts a little, she becomes aware of the arm draped over her abdomen. Listening closely, she hears the even breathing of a slumbering person behind her and she glances over her shoulder to find Casey, who propped against the couch, in a deep sleep.

A small smile appears on Alex's face as she takes note of just how peaceful the redhead looks while she's a sleep. She doesn't look worried, or tired, or stressed. She just looks relaxed and peaceful. She smiles again before she lays her head back down and closes her eyes once more to fall back asleep her self.

**Hehehehe Casey seems like a pain to watch movies with. Leave your thoughts? **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Chapter for you, enjoy :) **

When Alex opens her eyes once again, there are beams of sunlight shining through the wall length windows of the apartment. Blinking a few times to get her self settled, she yawns as she props her self up on her elbows to continue waking up. As she sits up she realizes two things are different, she notices that there has been a warm blanket draped over her body, and she notices the absence of an arm that was protectively holding her in her sleep. She can't help but smile at the thought.

Getting up from the sofa, she stretches out her limbs and glances around the living room for a brief moment before she heads up stairs to check on Emma. She listens around for any signs of Casey, but she then realizes that the redhead has probably been awake, done her usual morning routine, and has headed off to work. As she steps into the room to see if her daughter is still asleep, all of the words freeze in her throat when she realizes that the room is empty. But how can it be empty? She swears that Emma was right here when she put her down for bed last night.

"Emma? Emma, honey, are you in here?" the blonde exclaims as she begins to quickly look around the room. "Emma, sweetie, don't…don't hide from Mommy."

Trying to keep her self from panicking, Alex then continues to search everywhere that she can think of, coming up empty and finding absolutely no trace of her daughter anywhere. For once she just wishes that the little girl is playing a really good game of hide and go seek and she just doesn't want to be found at the moment.

"Emma, where are you!" she exclaims, becoming more and more frantic by the second because she simply cannot find her daughter anywhere in the apartment. She makes another round once more, checking places that she has already checked, looking under things that probably no child would have sense enough to hide in, checking in cabinets, under beds, in closets, literally everywhere she can think of, she looks. "Emma!"

Just as Alex comes out of the kitchen in a complete hysterical fit, the front door opens and in toddles her daughter with a wide smile, clutching an unopened bottle of orange juice, followed by Casey who is clutching two plastic bags in both her hands.

"Oh my god," Alex exclaims as she rushes over to her daughter and picks her up, tightly clutching her to her chest. She holds the little girl there tightly for a moment before she begins placing kisses all over her forehead.

"Um, is everything…okay?" Casey asks cautiously upon noticing the mood in the air. She flinches when Alex instantly shoots her a piercing glare that would be enough to make a serial murder piss on himself right then and there. "Alex?"

Alex's glare hardens before she sits her daughter back down onto the floor and stalks up to the woman standing a few feet away from her. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she snaps rather loudly startling both Casey and Emma at the same time.

"I—I, uh, what? Is there something wrong?"

"Is there something wrong-you're damn right that there is something wrong!"

"Whoa, okay." Casey says calmly as she holds up to of her hands. She cautiously goes and sets the bags down on the coffee table. "Mommy and I are gonna go have a grown up talk in the kitchen, okay Emma? We'll be right back." She says reassuringly to the worried looking little girl who simply nods her head and climbs onto the couch.

Casey gently guides Alex into the kitchen and makes sure that the door is closed behind her before she turns to the blonde, keeping her voice calm and even. "Alex, just-just calm down for a little bit and just tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong? What's wrong is that you get up here and you take my daughter with you and I don't even know where the hell you're going! That's what's fucking wrong!"

"Whoa, okay. Remember what I said about calming down? I-I'm sorry, okay? It's just, I woke up this morning and you were sleeping and you looked really tired. Emma was already awake and I didn't want to wake you. It's a Saturday and I don't have to work so I figured that we would go out and get some breakfast to bring home. I just wanted you to get some rest, that's all."

Alex's glare hardens once more and her eyes flare with anger as she points a harsh finger at the attorney. "NO ONE is going to hurt my daughter, do you understand me? NO ONE." She exclaims in a hard tone, though her voice begins to crack and waver.

Casey's eyes widen and she gently takes both of Alex's hands in her own. "Alex, look at me. Look at me." she pleads, finally getting the blonde to look at her and she takes note of the tears hiding behind fierce blue eyes. "I would never, ever, ever do anything to hurt your daughter? Okay? She was up and I just didn't want to wake you because you seemed tired. I swear to you, on my life, that I would never do anything to hurt your little girl or you. You have my word."

Alex hesitates for a moment before she shakily nods her head. "I-I know….I know that you would never…never hurt her, or me. I—I trust you. I just, I woke up and she was gone and I just panicked. I-I didn't know what to think. I can't lose her Casey. I can't."

"Hey, shhh, c'mere." Casey says softly as she pulls Alex closer to her. "It's my fault. I should have left a note or something. It's completely my fault that I didn't think about it. I promise, I'll never hurt either one of you. Ever."

"I know…I—I trust you…"

* * *

"Mommy, will Santa Claus be able to find us this year?" Emma asks innocently later on that day as she looks up at her mother with wide expectant blue eyes.

"I don't know sweetheart." Alex replies sadly as her heart sinks once more. It just breaks her heart that around this time of year Emma always asks about Santa Claus. It just tears her apart to know that Emma feels like the forgotten exception to the magical man that supposedly brings toys to little children all over the world. Every year little Emma begs her mother to take her to the mall to sit on 'Santa's' lap and tell him what it is that she wants for Christmas.

"I hope he does. There's some much that I wanna ask him for this year. I want a lots and lots of presents." The tiny blonde responds with a wide grin before she turns back to her coloring page. "Can I send him a letter this year?"

Alex hesitates for a long moment before she bites down on her lower lip. In all honesty, she isn't sure whether or not it would be appropriate for Emma to write a letter to Santa Claus, simply because she knows that the letter won't be answered. She just doesn't want to get her daughter's hopes up just for her to be disappointed come Christmas Day.

"Let's wait a little while before we send your letter, okay? Just to make sure it doesn't get mixed up with all the other little children's." Alex explains as she gently runs her fingers through her daughter's silky light blonde hair. "Okay sweetie?"

"Okay Mommy." Emma exclaims happily as she continues to color her picture.

Casey bites down on her bottom lip from where she was listening in the kitchen doorway before she makes up her mind and enters the living room. "Hey Emma, I just had a really cool idea. Have you ever seen the really big Christmas tree that's at Rockefeller Plaza? It's really, really big."

Emma's eyes light up like two shining stars as her mouth falls open and she shakes her head. "No, I've never been. Is it the biggest tree in the whole wide world?"

"Well I think it's the biggest tree in the whole wide word. It's really pretty too. It has lots and lots of decorations on it."

"Really? Can you show me?"

"Well, I'd really like for us to go, but it all depends on whether or not your Mommy says yes."

Emma's eyes widen again as she immediately turns to Alex and starts tugging on the sleeve of her shirt. "Can we go Mommy? Please, please, please, can we? Can we go see the pretty Christmas tree?"

Alex can't help but chuckle at her little girl's persistence. "Sure sweetie." She says, earning an excited squeal from Emma. "But you have to let Mommy put your coat on and bundle you up since it's cold out."

"Okay Mommy, okay!" Emma exclaims bouncing up and down with excitement.

It doesn't particularly take the trio all that long to get from Casey's apartment to the Christmas tree in Rockefeller center. Upon seeing the tree, Emma's face lights up like a thousand Christmas lights and she immediately begins bouncing up and down with excitement. "Look at it Mommy! It really IS the biggest tree in the whole wide world! Oh my gosh, I bet Santa leaves a billion times a billion presents underneath it on Christmas! That's a lot of presents isn't it Mommy?"

"Yeah it is baby." Alex responds, thoroughly humored by her daughter's enthusiasm. "But I'm sure that all of the children he leaves them for don't pout and give their mothers grief about eating their green veggies."

At this Emma pouts and folds her arms tightly as she narrows her eyes. "I don't like green veggies. They're yucky."

"They make you healthy." Alex responds with a shake of her head.

"It's okay Emma." Casey chimes in before she leans down to whisper in the little girl's ear. "I don't like them either." She whispers which causes Emma to giggle and put her hand over her mouth.

Alex rolls her eyes and shakes her head despite the smile playing at her lips. "I feel like you two are gonna start ganging up on me. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not."

"Psh, nah." Casey replies, winking at Emma who giggles once more and winks back. "See? No conspiracies here!"

* * *

A little later on, the trio finds them self in a rather 'uppity' coffee shop with Alex and Emma seated at a small table near a window while Casey gazes at the menu to see what it is that she wants to order. She taps her chin and hums quietly to her self just as she is sure that she has about made up her mind.

"Casey?"

The redhead quickly spins around at hearing her name and she smiles nervously when she meets the eyes of a very familiar coworker. "Uh, Kim, hey." She manages with a light chuckle. "Fancy meeting you here, right?"

"Hm, I guess so." Kim replies with a shrug before she slightly tilts her head. "I don't think I've ever seen you here before. What brings you here this morning?"

"Oh, no, I, um, I've only been here maybe once or twice. I was just over here today because I brought Alex and her daughter along to see the Christmas tree." Casey answers as she nods her head towards the duo seated at the table across the coffee shop.

Kim follows Casey's gaze and her eyes narrow briefly before she clears her throat and manages a smile. "Oh I see. So, she has a daughter?"

"Yeah. She's actually the sweetest little kid that I've ever met. She's so down to earth and adorable. It's actually really, really cute."

"I think that you just really, really like kids."

Casey smiles and shrugs her shoulders after a moment of thought. "Ah, I guess you're right. But how can anyone not like kids? They're great."

Kim hums as she tilts her head to the side once more and begins casually walking her fingers up the length of Casey's arm. "I see, well listen. I have two Broadway tickets to see Les Miserables. I was wondering if you would like to go? Seeing as I know that's one of your favorite musicals."

"Wow, really? Ah, sure, that sounds. That sounds great." Casey responds as she suddenly becomes aware of their close proximities. "What made you want to ask me?"

"Oh, I don't know. Serena couldn't go because she was busy and I will be damned to hell a thousand times if I ask Abbie to go with me. I figured it would be pointless to waste that extra ticket, you know?"

"No, yeah, yeah, I'd love to. When is it?"

"Tonight at eight. What would be an appropriate time for me to come and get you?"

"Um…seven thirty would be nice I suppose." Casey responds as she finds the urge to clear her throat once more.

"I'll be there at seven." The slightly shorter woman whispers with a wink before she picks up her coffee and saunters away, leaving a very speechless redhead in her wake.

Meanwhile, at a table across the shop, Alex watches the entire scene play out and she can't help but sigh. "They seemed rather cozy…" she murmurs out loud to her self.

"Who Mommy?" Emma asks curiously as she looks around to see who her mother is talking about while Alex simply shakes her head in response.

"No one, sweetie. No one."

**Before I end this chapter, let me just make it clear that Casey is a little oblivious when it comes to this and she doesn't think what just happened is a date. Just letting that be known before anyone said anything. **

**Also, I only used Les Miserables because it's probably one of the few Broadway shows I actually know if and it is MY favorite. :3**

**Alright, now you can go click that button to leave your thoughts :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Another chapter for you :)**

"So um, are you working tonight?" Casey asks curiously as she opens the door and lets Alex step through first for she is carrying a now sleeping child.

Alex shakes her head and immediately goes to lie Emma down in the bedroom before she returns downstairs to continue on with their conversation. "No, I'm not. I'm really tired and I'm just not on the mood to dance tonight. I was kinda hoping that we could sit on the couch and watch Christmas movies again. That was really fun last night." _'Especially the part where you held me in my sleep.'_

Casey blushes as little as she awkwardly begins rubbing at the back of her neck out of pure nervous habit. "That sounds really fun and all, but I can't. I ran into Kim at the coffee shop earlier and she invited me to go see this musical with her."

"Oh, I see." Alex says, though her heart sinks a little bit as she sits down on the sofa. "Really, that's great. Um, what musical?"

"Les Miserables."

"Oh, I love that one. Well, I've read the book; I've never actually gone and saw the musical. But I've heard that it was good." Alex trails off sadly before she perks up with a smile once again. "So what time is your date?"

Casey pales about a shade before the color returns to her face full force and she blushes the crimson color of her hair. "I-it-it's not a date." She states as she looks at her watch to divert her attention anywhere.

A soft grin appears on Alex's lips as she chuckles quietly. "It's not? But she seems so fond of you, what with the way that she looks at you and all. I would have just assumed that it would be a date."

"Well, it's not. We're just friends going to a musical. Can't it just be that simple?"

"Is there anyone else going with you?"

"Well no but-…It's not a date!"

Alex holds up her hands in surrender as a soft chuckle exits her lips. "Okay, okay, you don't have to shout. I heard you the first time. It's not a date. Gotcha. What time's she gonna be here?"

Casey shrugs her shoulders before she shoves her hands deep into her pockets. "She said she'd be here at seven." She mumbles, suddenly becoming really interested in the carpet.

Alex hums and glances at the clock before she turns back to Casey. "Well, then you should probably start thinking about getting ready." She says with a small laugh, holding up her hand when she sees the redhead preparing to open her mouth and protest. "Casey, really. I'll be fine here by my self. I'm pretty sure that Emma is going to wake up at any given moment so I'll have her to keep me at least a little bit of company. Please, go get ready for you 'outing'."

As much as she wants to protest once again, Casey knows that it would be completely futile and pointless. She simply nods her head silently and gives Alex a wide thankful smile before she disappears up the stairs to start getting ready.

Alex watches to make sure that Casey has disappeared up the stairs completely before she sighs and leans back into the comfort of the sofa. She tucks her feet underneath her as she begins to examine all of her feelings and what it is that they mean exactly. She feels like she is starting to feel something for Casey that she has never quite felt at the very beginning.

At first, she felt that the redhead was very persistent and very annoying. She thought that she was just another person that was placed in her life to use her, to manipulate her, to take advantage of her, and everything else that is above, below, and even in between. But now, now she isn't sure if that is the case.

Now she feels like she can suddenly trust Casey and it's the kind of trust that she hasn't felt for anyone else since she was four years old and her mother was still very much alive. When her mother died and her father began treating her the way that he had, she felt that trust was very much broken. She has never let her self trust anyone ever again; at least, not to the fullest.

But with Casey, everything seems different. She feels like she can trust again. As much as her mind is trying to tell her otherwise, deep in her heart, she feels like she knows that she can trust the redhead with damn near anything. She feels safe when she's with Casey and she feels that Casey won't hurt her. She feels that she can trust Casey to be there for her daughter and to not protect her or abandon her over anything.

But what does all this mean?

That, well, Alex simply just doesn't know. That feeling she gets whenever she looks at Casey, that feeling that she gets whenever their arms brush against each other, or every time they share a hug. That feeling that she gets whenever they're having a light conversation. That feeling she gets whenever she sees Casey smile or whenever Casey makes her smile. That feeling that she had when they had fallen asleep together on the couch and she ended up safely in Casey's arms for the night. That feeling. That feeling is something that Alex just isn't used to. In fact, it is a feeling that is so unfamiliar to her that she has no idea of what it is. She doesn't know what to call it, she doesn't know what to make of it, she isn't even sure if it's a real feeling at all, simply because she has never felt it before in her entire life.

The feeling of having her heart soar to heights that she didn't even know were imaginable. The feeling of the warmness at her cheeks in the midst of a blush. The feeling of warmth deep down in her core. The feeling of desperate longing for what she knows that she could never be.

Troubled yes, but Alexandra Cabot is not by any means stupid. But it does not take either an Einstein or a Neanderthal to experience the confusion that accompanies the ever so strange feeling that so many, but at the same time very few, are graced with. That feeling is called love. It's a feeling that Alex can never once recall feeling in her life therefore she does not recognize it. She does not recognize when she is falling in love.

Alex doesn't realize just how long it is that she has been lost in her own thoughts and she is startled out of her stupor by Casey's voice calling her name from at top of the stairs. Shaking her head, she blinks her self back to reality and smiles up at the waiting woman. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was wondering if you could help me with something super fast." Casey responds as she holds up two different pairs of earrings. "I'm having trouble deciding."

"I like the silver ones." Alex calls back as she takes note of the redhead's midnight blue dress that hugs and compliments all of her curves perfectly. "It goes really well with your dress."

Casey smiles and chuckles as she examines the earrings Alex selected. "Wow. Thanks. I probably would've ended up picking the other ones. Now I just need to find shoes." She says with a small laugh before she disappears back into her bedroom, groaning when she hears the telltale sound of arrival at the front door. "Ugh and here I am, not ready. Alex, would you mind getting that? I'll be down in just a second."

"Of course." Alex grumbles as she stands up from the sofa and reluctantly makes her way over to the door. Counting to ten quickly in her head, she opens the door and places the most welcoming smile on her face that she can muster. "Hi there."

"Hello." Kim replies slowly with a tight smile as she attempts to direct her coldness elsewhere for the time being. "Is Casey ready?"

"Ah, she said she'll be down in just a sec. You can come in and wait if you want." Alex offers, stepping aside when the other woman simply hums lowly and proceeds to enter. If she didn't know any better she would say that there was this cold chill that entered the room just then.

The silence in the room is rather awkward and to be honest, it's making Alex rather uncomfortable. She wrings her hands for a moment before she clears her throat and attempts to start conversation. "So, uh, Kim, you're a lawyer too right…" she starts by stating the obvious. You can never go wrong with playing it safe.

Kim's eyes narrow briefly before she nods her head. "That's right. And I hear that you're an exotic dancer." She states, using the rather formal term rather than saying the word flat out.

Alex blushes a little and averts her gaze to the floor. "She told you…" she murmurs quietly, though the brunette heard it quite clearly.

"It is not as if I wasn't able to figure it out on my own." Kim answers with a dismissive chuckle.

"Are you saying that I outright look like a stripper?"

"I didn't say that. But if you would much rather think that, then go right ahead. I'm not going to stand in your way."

Alex frowns and bites down on her lower lip, opening and closing her mouth several times before she is able to come up with something coherent to say. "Are you Casey's girlfriend?" Alright, maybe it was coherent but probably not the most appropriate thing to say. Perhaps silence was maybe a little better.

Kim's eyes flare before a frown forms across her face. "What's it matter to you?"

"N-nothing. It doesn't. I was just wondering…"

"Well it's none of your business. Aren't you supposed to be at a club at the moment or something?"

"I'm taking care of my daughter." Alex murmurs quietly once again, having no idea why she is intimidated just by being in the same room with this woman.

"Right. The child." Kim mutters with an eye roll, turning her attention towards the stairs where she smiles upon seeing Casey descending. "Ah, there she is. Are we ready to go?"

"Just about." Casey replies as she drops her phone into her purse. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay by yourself? I'm not going to be gone long."

Alex manages a smile and nods her head before she wraps her arms around her self. "I promise, I'll be fine. Maybe we can watch Christmas movies when you come back if it's not too late. You two have fun."

Casey grins before she turns around and heads towards the door while Kim and Alex share a final mutual glare before the duo departs for their musical, leaving Alex alone with her thoughts. Sighing heavily she plops down on the couch and starts reading one of her law textbooks, suddenly realizing that the cold chill has now left the room once again.

"Yep. It was definitely her."

* * *

"I really just don't understand why she's staying with you." Kim states during the intermission without looking up as she casually flips through the production program.

"I told you, I was just being nice. She's been through a lot." Casey replies with a shrug. "It isn't like she's a serial murderer or ax killer or anything like that."

"You never know." Kim hums with a shrug as she turns the page of the program. There is a small silence between the two of them before she speaks again. "Is she illiterate?"

Casey frowns at the question and slightly tilts her head. "What?"

Kim raises her eyes from the program and locks gazes with Casey's. "Is she illiterate. It's a simple question."

"What does it matter?" Casey asks cautiously, wondering where the question came from.

"Serena wanted to know." the other attorney responds coolly as she returns her attention back to the program.

"Well, no, she's not. She's actually very smart."

"Yet she is taking off her clothes and exposing her self in exchange for money. Yes, sounds like a real genius."

Casey sighs and shakes her head as she leans back into her seat. "You don't understand. If you were in her position, you'd probably be desperate for money to and would do anything to earn it. Especially if you were taking care of a four year old little girl."

Kim folds her program back into her lap before she turns to Casey and rests her chin on her hand. "Yes well, while that may be true, I on the other hand know how to do things, other than exploit myself, so for me that would not even be an option. She could work in a fast food restaurant for heaven's sake, but instead she's stripping?"

"I've been trying to figure that out for as long as I can remember. I just want to help her you know?" Casey says quietly before her eyes widen in realization. "Hey, maybe I can talk to Liz about getting her some type of internship or something like that."

"What?!" Kim exclaims, a little louder than intended. "What do you mean 'internship'? The DA's office is not some sort of playground Casey, you know that. Not just anyone can stroll in there and hand in an application for a job."

Casey shakes her head as she waves her hands. "No, no, no, I know all that, but Alex is in law school and she's trying to get her license. Maybe I could talk to Liz about helping her, that way she won't have to keep stripping for money."

A look of horror briefly passes across Kim's face but being the ever composed person she is, she masks it easily. "Well, I'm sure that…that would be very nice of you." she says tightly, shifting in her seat before she abruptly stands up. "Excuse me. I'm going to the restroom before they resume with the show."

Casey quirks an eyebrow as she stares after her friend in confusion but she eventually shrugs it off as nothing. She sits back in her chair and presses a finger to her lips as she begins thinking of just how she can help Alex.

Later That Night

"Well Miss Greylek, I certainly did not peg you for one to cry during anything, let alone a Broadway musical." Casey says smugly as they walk down the hall towards her apartment.

Kim rolls her eyes and shakes her head as she shoves her hands into her coat pockets. "Yes well, we all have our weak spots, right? I'm sure that there was a point in the show that you cried to. You were just able to shield it better than I was because it probably wasn't so quiet."

"Sure." Casey mocks sarcastically as they approach her apartment. "Thanks for inviting me. It really was fun. I'm probably going to have to go and see it again on my own time now, just because it was that good."

"It was. It was very well put together and the actors were incredible. I'm glad that you had fun."

"Yeah, thank goodness for an extra ticket, right?"

There is silence between the two of them once again for about thirty seconds before the shorter of the two makes a spontaneously rash decision and quickly steps forward, pressing her lips against the redhead's.

All of Casey's senses completely freeze all at once as she practically drops her stuff and her eyes grow wide to about the size of car tires as she stands completely frozen stiff from the lip lock.

Alex frowns as she hears a noise outside in the hall and she makes her way over to the front door, curious on whether or not she should open the door. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she settles on swinging the door open, her mouth falling open at what she sees. "Um. Okay. Wow…"

The kiss broken, Casey is sure that she has turned the color of a fire engine as she finds her self out of breath and extremely embarrassed. "Um, Alex, uh, hey. We were just, uh, saying goodnight."

"I can see that." the blonde answers with a nod as her wide eyed and open mouthed expression remains the same.

Kim clears her throat and straightens her self out. "Right, well, um, I should really be going. I'll see you on Monday Casey." She says quickly before she quickly spins on her heel and makes her departure.

"Yes, yeah, Monday…see you." Casey rambles as she bends down to pick up her stuff and shuffles into her apartment kicking off her shoes. "Well…that was awkward…" she mutters nervously before she notices Alex's sudden change in expression. "Alex? What's wrong?"

"I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend." The blonde says quietly, her voice portraying a hint of sadness and disappointment.

"She-she's not!"

"You were kissing her…"

"What? No, I- was I? Well, it was weird, I don't really know what just happened."

Alex waves her hands and shakes her head as she averts her gaze elsewhere. "It's fine. It's none of my business anyway. I'm just…going to go to bed. Good night."

Casey frowns at hearing the blonde's defeated tone and she stares after her as she begins ascending the stairs. "Alex, wait, it-it really wasn't what it looked like. It wasn't!" she exclaims before hearing the door softly close from upstairs.

Groaning, Casey flops down on hr back onto the couch and presses her palms deep into her eyes. She has realized two things in the past five minutes. One, she feels like Alex is mad at her but for what she can't realize and two, she most definitely does not want to go into work Monday morning after what just happened.

**Well, heh, they don't call her The Crusader for nothing right? Lol, leave your precious thoughts :3 **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I fell asleep writing again, guess it was past my bedtime, heh. Enjoy :)**

"I think Alex is mad at me dude." Casey says out of the blue as she and Abbie continue their volley in their virtual tennis game at the brunette's apartment.

"She's mad at you? What'd you do?" Abbie asks curiously, briefly glances at her best friend before she turns back to the television and continues to swing the Wii remote.

Casey thinks for a moment before she shrugs a shoulder. "I really don't know! She didn't speak to me this morning when we got up. Well she spoke to me, but it wasn't like usual. It was more of a 'hey' or 'no' or whatever. They were just really short answers. I asked her if she wanted to do anything today and again she just said no. I mean, she hasn't expressed that she's straight up furious with me, but she has been acting very...I don't know, like she doesn't wanna talk to me. I just wish she'd tell me what I did so I can do my best to fix it."

"Well what did you do to her? You had to have done something that made her upset with you. When did she start acting so...well, like that?"

"Yesterday, I went to a Broadway shoe with Kim yesterday and when we got back Kim kinda...well she was kinda kissing me when Alex opened the door."

"Hold the hell on!" Abbie exclaims as she pauses the game and stares at her best friend with a wide eyed expression. "What do you mean she was 'kinda kissing you'!? There is no kinda kissing Casey! Either you're kissing or you aren't. There is no in between!"

"Okay so she was kissing?" Casey tries to correct her self with a careful shrug. "I really don't see how that's the point at all."

Abbie is silent for a moment before at sighs heavily and shakes her head as she puts the remote down on her coffee table. "C'mere Cassandra. It seems that you and I need to have a little talk." She states solemnly before she takes a seat on the couch and pats the cushion next to her, beckoning for the younger woman to join her. "Casey. Casey Casey Casey. So young and unsurprisingly so oblivious."

Casey's lips purse into a thin line before she tilts her head in complete and utter confusion. "What're you talking about."

"I'm talking about you. Look at ya. Young, fresh, innocent, oblivious. You're not even thirty and you have a job most forty year olds can't even get. Then there's your game. You've got game kid and you don't even realize it."

"Abbie, you're talking in riddles right now. What is it you're trying to say?"

Chuckling, the older attorney slugs her best friend in the shoulder. "Only Casey Novak would have two incredibly hot women wanting her, and she doesn't even realize it."

Casey falls silent after this and her eyes widen, resembling that look of a deer caught in the headlights. "What?" She asks, still with that same look plastered across her face.

Abbie bursts into hysteric laughter upon seeing the redhead's facial expression. "Case, you look like a dumb deer standing in the middle of the road waiting to get hit right now. Is this your first time realizing that either of these two women want you?"

"They...what?"

"Look at it. You say Kim kissed you right? Has she been hanging around you a lot? Maybe even flirting a little bit here or there? Maybe she'll press her self up to you every now and then. Or she'll touch your arm just like this when she's speaking to ya." Abbie lists off as she walks her fingers up Casey's arm to prove her point. "Let me guess. Then she asked ya to that musical cause she claimed to have had an extra ticket right? Then she might've said something like Serena was too busy to go and that she wouldn't wanna go with me 'cause she thinks I'm a total sleaze, and she didn't wanna waste that extra ticket right?"

Casey blinks several times and beams at Abbie with utter amazement. "Wow. How did...how'd you do that?"

Abbie laughs again at the younger woman's amazement and shakes her head. "I'm a smart woman who has been there. Casey sweetheart, she bought that 'extra ticket' specifically to give to you. Hate to break it to ya, but you went on a date with Kim my friend."

"Great." Casey groans as she puts her hands over her eyes and shrinks down into the couch. "Now she probably thinks there's something between us. But while all of that makes sense, it still doesn't explain why Alex is upset."

"Do you have corn growing in your ears!?" Abbie exclaims loudly, her southern accent appearing briefly due to her frustrations. "It explains PERFECTLY why Alex is upset. Think about it. Why else would she be upset by you going out with Kim and then seeing Kim kiss you?! She likes you too ya moron!"

Casey blinks blankly once again and her mouth forms into a perfect 'O' shape at the sudden realization. "Ohhh...so you mean...that must mean..."

"She's jealous Casey, she's jealous. Why else would it bother her that she opens the door to see you standing there tonguing another chick?"

"Hey! Gross! No! There was no tongue! At all! Not even a little bit! As a matter of fact I didn't even kiss back, so there."

Abbie stares at her best friend blankly for a moment before she sighs and heavily shakes her head. "You seriously do amaze me Case, really you do. Even I know better than that."

"Well hey, I don't see women coming and fawning all over you!"

"Hey, they do! With the exception of maybe four! And at least I know what to do with them!"

"Yeah? Well where's YOUR girlfriend?"

"She's out there somewhere." Abbie whispers sincerely. "So what're you gonna do?"

Casey shrugs her shoulders after another moment of long thinking. "I don't know. What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, do you have feelings for either of them?"

"I dunno. Maybe? I just...I worked so hard to get Alex to trust me and I care about her and everything but I don't wanna mess things up. And Kim...well, she seems nice...on occasion. I mean...she's nice to me and everything and I don't find myself repulsed by her so that has to mean something, right? Gee Abbs, I dunno. I've never had this happen before."

Abbie snorts and quirks an eyebrow at her friend. "No really? I couldn't even tell, because from right here, you totally look like you know what you're doing." She says sarcastically. "Follow your heart. That's what my Mama always says do."

Casey nods her head before she sighs heavily. "Yeah, you're right."

"Hey, can I ask ya something?"

"Sure, go for it."

"What was it like kissin' Kim?"

Casey frowns as she thinks for a moment before she settles in shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sure it would've been much nicer had I actually kissed her. You know how when you're taken by surprise sometimes, you're so in shock at something that is actually happening that you're frozen stiff? It was exactly like that. I froze and I had absolutely no idea what to do."

"So basically, she was kissing you and you were standing there like a concrete slab doing absolutely nothing." Abbie states with a nod of her head. "Yeah, that sounds like something that you would do. Hey, so what is Alex doing right now, since she's all pissed at you and everything?"

"Oh, I introduced her to a friend because I thought they would get along well. Ya see, Alex is in law school and I figured she could use another friend who could offer some good guidance."

"Is it the friend that I'm thinking of?"

"Probably."

Abbie bursts into a fit of laughter for a second time, though, this one lasts much longer than the first. "Oh man, Alex is gonna REALLY hate you after this."

Casey frowns and looks at the dark haired attorney with genuine confusion. "What? Why is that?"

"Cause you sent her in to have her ears talked off."

* * *

"I think that your daughter is the most adorable little girl in the planet. Really she is. She's very pretty as well; she has your eyes. I've never seen a child with so much energy too. She must never tire her self out. So anyway, Casey tells me that you are currently in law school? That's really fascinating. I've never really been giving the chance to speak to a student you know. Are you almost finished? Let me tell you, there isn't a greater satisfaction in the world than getting school over with and then getting out so you can get just the job that you wanted to begin with. Have you always desired to be a lawyer? I really admire you of you did. Well I mean, I already admire you. You're a single mother who has been raising and taking care of a child with out a proper income or financial aid. I'm not a mother but I'm sure that has to be a load of hard work. But anyway, back to jobs. Is there a specific unit you would prefer being an attorney in? Unless you would want to be a defense attorney. I won't judge you if that's what you strive to be, but most prosecutors tend to despise most defense attorneys. We mix together like gasoline and cigarettes. Speaking of cigarettes you really shouldn't smoke, it's bad for your health."

Alex blinks as she blonde sitting next to her on the bench finally ceases her rambling. She has just starting smoking her third cigarette in the span of the time this woman has actually been talking. "Sorry." She murmurs as she extinguishes the light on said third cigarette. "I tend to smoke more under pressure. Um, has anyone told you that you talk a lot?"

Serena excitedly nods her head with enthusiasm. "Oh yes! When I was two years old my mother would always tell me how much of a chatterbox I was. As I grew up and started attending school then I started hearing it from teachers. My best friend Kim tells me t talk too much all the time."

"Best friend...?" Alex repeats carefully wondering how the two woman who appear to be polar opposites can even be acquaintances let along best friends.

"Yeah, I get that reaction a lot. She comes off as mean but she's actually pretty okay. She kinda reminds of me a cactus sometimes. Have you met her?"

"Unfortunately. She and I became very well acquainted when I interrupted her and Casey's little lip lock last night."

Serena's eyes widen considerably at the statement and her mouth falls slightly agape. "W-what?" She stammers, hating the feeling of being left in the dark.

Alex snorts humorlessly and shrugs her shoulders as she takes to lighting her cigarette once again. "Oh yeah. They went out to a play show thing last night and when they came back, I opened the door and there they were. Practically making out right outside the apartment..."

Serena's stunned expression doesn't fade and as she is about to say something in regards to what she has just been told. She promptly closes her mouth and frowns. "It bothers you." She lets out, her words coming out as a statement instead of a question.

Alex's hard expression falters for a nanosecond and her icy gaze snaps to the other blonde who continues to stare at her. "It Does not bother me." She states robotically.

"Yes it does." Serena repeats as her eyes widen once again a few seconds later. "You're in love with her...with Casey..."

Alex doesn't say anything else, instead she turns away and keeps her gaze transfixed on the playground where her daughter is playing.

"Does she know?" The older blonde presses carefully.

"No..." Alex responds quietly after a moment of heavy silence. "She doesn't."

"...tell her."

"Are you insane?!"

"Perhaps a little bit, but that doesn't mean that I'm wrong..." Serena says quietly. "Maybe she feels the same?"

Alex snorts mirthlessly once more and shakes her head. "Doubt it. Why would she when she's surrounded by people like you, or Kim, or anyone else? All the time? Why would she want a poor broke lonely stripper who just struggling to find her place?"

"Sometimes you would be surprised at how other people feel."

"Yeah well, not this time...not this time."

**Leave your thoughts?**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry I didn't get this out yesterday. I had a lot going on :/ also, this chapter is not for the faint at heart. Just saying. **

"Why are we here of all places?" Kim mutters as they enter the foursome enters a bar and starts heading over towards a table.

"You didn't HAVE to come." Abbie snarks back, matching the brunette's attitude which earns her a firm glare. "Just saying…"

Kim rolls her eyes and prepares a snide remark the counter with but her sneer fades when Casey slides into the booth next to her. The sudden transformation by her usually cold best friend doesn't go unnoticed by Serena in the slightest.

"So Rena, how come Liv isn't joining us today?" Casey asks curiously once all of them have ordered their respective beverages from the waitress.

A sad smile fades across Serena's face as her eyes cast down to the table and she subconsciously begins toying with one of the napkins in front of her. "She um…she went to go sit up at the hospital for a while again. I-I don't know if she plans on sleeping their again, but knowing how she is, she probably will be."

"Sleeping there?" Abbie repeats curiously as she slightly tilts her head to the side.

"Yeah. She…she has only slept at her place or mine only a handful of times ever since what happened…happened. I just…you guys, I'm trying not to sound like a jerk, but I feel like she's pulling away from me. She's constantly at the hospital and if she's not at the hospital, she's beating her self over what happened and she's blaming her self about the whole thing, but the thing is, she won't talk to me about it! She blows it off and says that nothing's bothering her, but then I can tell how she really feels about it whenever I look into her eyes. Now it's gotten to the point where she hardly even talks to me at all. She doesn't want to do anything, she doesn't want to spend any time together, she has just completely closed her self off; except for when she's spending her time at the hospital. I get it. I understand that Amanda is her partner and it's a cop thing to be there for your partner at any and all costs. I understand that. But I just…I feel like there's more to it than just that. I feel like Liv is in love with her, because she just doesn't look at the two of us the same way. Not anymore at least. I want to tell her all of this, but there just isn't a time that I can. What am I supposed to do? Go up there to the hospital and possibly cause a scene? Then what? I feel like I would only take one step forward only to be knocked three steps back. I don't want to lose her you guys, but I feel like I already have and I can't continue to do this. I can't continue to be waiting up for her at night only to be let down when she finally does call and tell me she's not coming; and that's _if _she actually remembers to call. I can't keep waiting and waiting for her and she's not going to be there. Whenever we do actually see each other, I can't keep pretending that I'm happy and that I'm okay with everything that's going on, because I'm not. I'm not happy. I feel like such a selfish bitch but I just can't keep doing this! I know…I know that she doesn't love me anymore and I can't keep waiting for that to come back when it probably isn't."

The other three women watch for a moment as their friend tries to keep her composure. Abbie slowly scoots over in the booth before she cautiously wraps her arm around Serena who appears to be as if she is struggling to keep her self from breaking down. "It's okay to cry if you need to. None of us here are going to judge you for it."

Serena shakes her head as she leans into the embrace, subconsciously seeking comfort. She is shaking and her breathing has become ragged as she continues to keep her self from sobbing aloud. "I-I can't do it anymore, I-I just, I'm so tired and my heart is breaking. I just can't do it anymore."

"None of us are blaming you." Casey says softly as she reaches across the table and gives her friend's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Do you want one of us to go talk to her for you? Maybe try to smooth things out a little?"

"No, that's…that's alright. This is a problem that I need to fix by myself. I just don't know if I'm strong enough to leave her…or if she's strong enough to handle it right now." Serena murmurs quietly as she begins nursing the drink that has been sat in front of her. "I'm sorry you guys. I didn't mean for this to turn in to lets talk about Serena's relationship issues. I just…I don't know why I started talking about that."

"Everyone needs to vent about their feelings every now and again." Kim chimes in sincerely before quickly turning her attention back to her own drink. "I am sure that things will work out for the better."

"I know. I just didn't want our night of relaxing to be turned into Serena's therapy hours."

"It's alright. We all could use this drink. It's about zero degrees in my house right now due to the tension." Casey states before she sighs. "I just wish that Alex wasn't upset with me."

Abbie quirks an eyebrow before she deems it reasonable to ask her question. "She is still giving you the cold shoulder?"

Casey sighs once more and shakes her head as she downs about half of her drink in one go. "It's not the cold shoulder. I mean, she'll talk to me and we actually have conversations now, but there is just some sort of hidden tremor in her voice whenever we do."

"I see." Abbie hums before she shrugs a shoulder. "Just remember what I told you."

Kim bites down on her lower lip and opens her mouth to speak but scowls when Serena abruptly and spontaneously cuts her off. If she hadn't known any better, she would say that the talkative blonde did it on purpose.

"I really did have fun taking to her Casey." Serena says managing a smile after all of her tears have subsided for the moment. "She really is an intelligent woman. I sense that she's troubled though. But I can tell that her heart is in the right place. Her daughter is just the cutest little thing."

"You've met her?" Kim asks a little dumbfounded before she turns to Casey with the same expression. "You let her meet Alex?"

Casey shrugs before she nods her head. "Yeah, I figured that Serena would be a good person for her to talk to. I'm glad to see that I wasn't wrong. She really is a great person isn't she? Just wish there was more I could do to help her. I'm gonna go talk to Liz about her tomorrow. She's really good you know. She rewrote a few of my opening statements a few times and they've turned out really well. I-I haven't told her yet, but I've paid off the rest of her loans and fees so now she can get her license."

"Wow Case, that's really great. I'm impressed." Abbie states with nodding approval.

"Yeah, that's incredibly sweet of you to help her out like that." Serena says with a smile, though her smile fades to a look of confusion when she takes in the sudden rigidness of her best friend across the table. "Kim? Something seems wrong, are you alright, Hon?"

Kim's eyes narrow briefly before she shakes her head and a smile slowly begins to creep across her face. "Nothing's wrong. I'm quite alright. I just remembered something work related, that's all." she states, noticing out of the corner of her eye that Casey is just starting her second drink while the rest of them are still on their first. "When did you finish the first one?"

Casey glances down at the glass and shrugs her shoulders before she takes a sip. "While we were talking." She states nonchalantly.

"Geez Novak, if you keep going at them like that, one of us is gonna have to carry you out of her." Abbie states with a humorous chuckle.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

**Later **

"What's the worst that could happen?" Serena quotes before she snorts. "Yeah, hm, I don't know, maybe you could be come drunk off your ass?" she concludes as she and Abbie laugh at their friend sitting across from them who is practically hanging half in and half out of the booth. "Typical."

Abbie chuckles and shakes her head before she folds her arms. "I love it when she gets drunk. It's one of the funniest things in the world."

"Why's that?"

"Has anyone wondered why they make the ceiling look like the ceiling and the floor look like the floor?" Casey slurs seriously as she points towards respective places. "Why can't the ceiling look like the floor and the floor look like the ceiling? Kinda like why isn't the grass blue and the sky green?"

"Alright. You're done. Let's get you home." Kim sighs as she practically drags the drunken redhead out of the booth.

Abbie quirks an eyebrow as she stands as well. "Are you sure you don't want me to take her?"

Kim shakes her head nonchalantly at the question. "No, it's fine. I've got it. Really it's no trouble. I mean, how hard could it be taking a drunk woman home? And it's not like I don't know how to get there."

"Yeah, and I need someone to take me home." Serena states before she slugs the taller woman in the shoulder. "Tag your it."

"Alright then." Abbie shrugs as she pulls her car keys out of her pocket. "Let's roll then, Blondie. Guess we'll see you guys later. Try not to let her puke in your car. Trust me, you don't want it to happen."

"Great." Kim mumbles as she has to help Casey to her feet once more. "Let's get you home now, yeah?"

Casey giggles hysterically and leans against the brunette for support. "This is fun, huh? How comes there's two of you?"

"Because it's magic…"

"Ooo! Magic!" the redhead exclaims before she bursts into song. "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC! IN A YOUNG GIRLS HEART! LA LA LA LA LA LA LA, I dunno the rest after that…"

"Yeah, I can see that." Kim mumbles as they finally make it to her car. "Please don't vomit in my front seat…"

"I'LL TRY! Hehehehehehehehe, no promises though!"

As they finally make it to Casey's apartment after a long and painful drive and journey of almost falling over in the elevator, Kim huffs irritably as she is once again practically dragging Casey down the hall. "You know, you gotta help me out at least a little bit."

"Heh, but it's fun!" Casey exclaims for probably the hundredth time as she slumps against the door. She pulls her keys out of her pocket and giggles hysterically when they fall onto the floor. "Hehehe, they fell."

Kim rolls her eyes and picks the keys up off the floor before she inserts them into the lock and pushes the door open allowing for Casey to stumble inside into the darkness. "Great…"

"Who turned out all the lights!?" Casey exclaims, scratching her head in slight confusion.

"No idea." Kim mutters as she sits all of Casey's belongings on the coffee table. "Well, now that you are in the confines of your own home, I will bid you goodnight."

"Noooo, stay with me." Casey pleads as she tugs on the brunette's sweater. "Please?"

"I really don't think that will be necessary…"

"C'moooon, it'll be fun. Hehehe, lemme tell yous a secret." Casey giggles before she puts her hand beside her mouth as if to tell a secret. "I think you're pretty." She whispers rather loudly before she giggles.

"I get that a lot." Kim mumbles, before she shakes her head "Go to bed Casey, you're drunk."

"Noooo, stay. Come to bed with me. It'll be fun!"

"I really don't think that's appropriate."

"Why not? You likes me right? Abbie says so! C'mooooon, you don't wanna sleep with me? Am I not good enough? C'moooooon." Casey pleads continuing to tug on the other woman's sweater.

"Casey, no, I really don't think-" Kim pauses before she quirks an eyebrow and a small smirk begins to tug at her lips. "Actually, you're right. It could be fun. Lead the way."

**Dun Dun Dun..hehehehehe...Leave your thoughts?**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Wow. I didn't think I'd get this out! I'm proud of myself :3 hope you enjoy! **

Casey blinks against the intrusion of light coming through her window. As she is finally able to get her eyes open, they immediately slam shut again when she becomes aware of the dull thud brewing in the base of her skull. Groaning, she shifts in bed and becomes vaguely aware of another presence beside her. Glancing to her left, she squeezes her eyes shut when she sees her work partner sleeping soundly beside her.

"Great…" the redhead mumble darkly to her self as she finally manages to sit up but nearly falls back when the room takes a quick, spontaneous spin. Casey presses her palms against her eyes and manages to get to her feet where she pads her across her bedroom and into the bathroom where she slips into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, she comes out in jeans and a t-shirt and heads over towards her dressing mirror. As she begins dragging a brush through her hair, she hears the rustling of the sheets soon followed by her name.

"Casey?" Kim asks groggily as she sits up in bed and rubs her eyes. She clutches the sheet against her chest and a sleepy smile graces her lips when her eyes land on the redhead. "Hey you."

Casey blinks and continues to brush her hair in the mirror before she responds. "Hey," she answers, keeping her eyes trained on her reflection as her colleague begins replacing all of her clothing.

"So…last night was fun." Kim says after a moment of silence as she replaces her sweater from the day before and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. "You mind if I use that when you're done?"

Casey finishes dragging the brush through her hair and she spins around, tossing the object to the brunette across the room. Awkwardly she folds her arms and leans against her dresser as she has absolutely no idea of what she's supposed to say.

Kim quirks an eyebrow at Casey's silence as she continues to brush out her hair. "Um, okay then. We don't have to talk or anything. But we're going to have to talk eventually seeing as we work together."

"Huh? Oh, no, it's not that I don't wanna talk, I just…I uh, I dunno. Listen, what happened last night was…weird."

"Weird? As in, the sex was weird or…?"

"No, yes, maybe, I don't know. I don't know how to explain what I'm trying to say. What happened was weird. I guess that's what I'm trying to say."

Kim snorts quietly before she shrugs her shoulders and crosses her legs. "Well you were the one who practically begged me to sleep with you."

Casey's eyes widen briefly before she awkwardly rubs at the back of her neck. "Did I? Oh wow, geez."

"Uh huh. Well, I guess that I should be going now. I really don't want to stay here and inconvenience you by taking up anymore of your time or anything." Kim states as she stands up and follows Casey out of the bedroom. As they reach the bottom of the steps, Casey pauses in front of her and a satisfied smirk spreads across her lips.

Alex sits on the couch with her legs tucked under her. Her expression falters a little when she sees the two, but as soon as the look is there, it's gone once again. "Oh…good morning." she says quietly, managing to give the two women a smile.

Casey clears her throat awkwardly and grins nervously completely oblivious to the smug grin that Alex is receiving from the woman behind her. "Kim was just leaving."

"I was." Kim says, her smug grin suddenly being masked by one she would deem sincere enough. "As I said before, I had fun. I'll see you at work?"

"Yeah, work." Casey mumbles, seeing the brunette off before she closes the door and heads back into the living room. She takes a seat on the sofa next to Alex and is a little surprised when the blonde scoots away from her a little. "So…is Emma still asleep?"

Alex nods her head as she continues to scan over her book. "Yeah. Sometimes she's a morning girl, other times she's not." she responds, not looking up from her book.

Casey bites down on her lip and takes a deep breath before she takes a chance on what she is about to say. "Alex, can we talk about something? Lately, you seem like you're upset with me about something…can we at least talk about it?"

"It sounds like you had fun last night." Alex states, coolly ignoring Casey's question and suggestion. "I heard noise downstairs and I was gonna come down to see what it was but then I heard you begging her to stay, so I just went back to my bedroom. I didn't want to be a disturbance."

"No, no, you…you wouldn't have been a disturbance. I-I was drunk and honestly, I barely even remember anything that happened last night. We work together, I shouldn't have slept with her. Now things are gonna be really awkward."

"They are only awkward if you make them awkward."

Sighing heavily, Casey leans forward and takes Alex's book from her before she sits it down on the coffee table. "Look at me. What's going on with you? Why are you acting like this?"

Alex bites down on her bottom lip and folds her arms tightly before she looks away. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"I'm afraid…"

Casey quirks an eyebrow and tilts her head. "Alex, you don't have to be afraid. I'm not here to judge you."

Alex laughs humorlessly as she vigorously shakes her head. "No, not that. I just…I can't tell you."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I said I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't! Okay?!"

"That's not good enough. Tell me why you can't tell me!"

"Casey, please, stop pushing. It doesn't matter."

"Clearly it does because you're upset. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid I'll judge you?"

"No!"

"Are you afraid I'll say something then? Are you afraid I won't care!"

"No! It's none of those! Please just leave it!"

"NO! Tell me what you're afraid of!"

"I'm afraid you'll hurt me!" Alex blurts out, leaving them in a heavy silence.

Casey is stunned into complete silence at Alex's spontaneous revelation. Her mouth opens and closes several times before she can come up with a coherent response. "You're afraid of me hurting you? Alex I-I told you you could trust me."

"I know that! I know I can trust you to keep me safe, I know I can trust you to be around Emma, but I'm afraid to trust you with a very special part of myself that I keep locked away." Alex trails off as she takes a shaky deep breath. "I'm afraid to trust you with my heart."

Once again Casey is stunned into silence and this time her words to come as easily as the first time. Sure she and Abbie did talk about this, but she never once actually considered what would really happen afterwards. "Alex, I-I don't understand."

Alex snorts mirthlessly as she shakes her head and stands up from the couch. "Of course you don't. How could you when you have a girlfriend already?" She murmurs as she begins to pace. "How could you when you have someone already."

"Alex she's not my girlfriend!"

"You slept with her! You, you work with her so you see her practically every day, then you go out with her and come back and you're kissing her, then you go out and come back and you go to bed with her. What else does that look like Casey? Then there's the way she looks at you. It just looks like the two of you are together. She looks like your girlfriend Casey. That's why I don't expect you to understand. I...I don't know what it is about you but just how you've been there for me, you've made me feel so much different about my self. You made me feel like I'm actually worth something. You express that you care for me. For the first time in probably my entire life, you've made me see what love really looks like, and I'm in love with you." Alex then pauses as her voice cracks and she shakes her head once more. "But how could you feel anything towards me? I'm poor, broke, lonely, I have a daughter, and that's just to name a few. You and I are completely separated. What could someone like you want with someone like me? That night that we fell asleep on the couch and you held me in your arms, I felt different. I felt safe and cared for and I didn't want it to end. I loved the felling of you holding me. But as I said before, what would you want with me?"

"Everything."

"What?"

Casey stands up from the couch and moved the where she and Alex are facing each other. "I want everything with you." She reiterates before she frowns. "What happened with Kim last night, it shouldn't have happened. I don't. I don't feel anything when I'm around her. When I kissed her, I didn't feel like I was supposed to be kissing her. There was no magic, no sparks, no fireworks, no anything. Last night was a drunken one night stand that means nothing. I enjoy being around you all the time. I love you staying here, the time we get to spend together, I love playing with that beautiful little girl sleeping upstairs. Because I-I love you too. Maybe I'm not too good at this and maybe I didn't realize it before now, but I should have. If I could take back what happened last night I would. But I know standing right here, right now, that I am in love with you too. Why would I want her, when I have you right here with me?"

Tears spring to Alex's eyes as she feels her self being pulled into an embrace. She rests her cheek against the redhead's shoulder and revels in the scent of lavender body wash mixed with a citrus shampoo. A scent that sends warm tingles through her body.

Not wanting to take things too fast. Casey guides them back to the sofa where she sits down and pulls Alex against her, wrapping an arm securely around the blondes waist. She smiles when she feels a head rest gently on her shoulder as fingers begin tracing patterns along the skin of her forearm.

"You know you can trust me with anything, including you heart, right?" Casey says softly as she runs her fingers through silky blonde tresses.

Alex is silent for a moment before she nods her head. "Right now, I just wan to be with you. I just want you to hold me." She whispers, Laing their fingers together and smiling when Casey does just that.

* * *

**District Attorney's Office**

"I must say that I am very impressed with this." Elizabeth Donnelly states as she leans back in her chair and continues to read over the paper in her hand. "Really Casey, this is extremely impressive. Not once have I ever seen anyone get a perfect score on this exam. At least not until now, but I shouldn't be surprised by Cabot performances. Victor has taught those girls well I see."

"He didn't teach her anything. She did all that on her own without his help." Casey says flatly, drawing a confused look from her boss. "Alex says that her dad cut her off and cut all ties with her when she was very young. She says that he put all of his attention into her older sister after their mom passed away. Ever since she graduated high school she's been supporting her self on her own. That's how she was when I met her but only now she has a daughter as has to take care of as well. She...she would approve of me telling you any of that but I felt you needed to know."

Liz sighs heavily as she removes her glasses. "Victor turned into a harsh man after Caroline's passing. I just never once thought that he would turn on his own child." She says before replacing her glasses as she continues reading. "At such a great loss too I see. I am just completely amazed at all of her accomplishments. I've never seen a transcript like this. The last times I have been even relatively close to being this impressed was when I read over Abigail's transcript and then your own. But tell me something Casey, why is Alexandra not here doing this her self?"

Casey bites down on her bottom lip before she sighs heavily. "She actually doesn't know I'm here doing this. I just...I know she's good and I wanted you to see it too but she's not real confident in her self right now. She doesn't think she's as good as she is and I think that if she had the right opportunity, she would really finally see it. There's no doubt in my head that says she wouldn't make a great attorney. All she needs is a shot."

"One could never have an over flow of ADAs." Liz hums to her self as her nails tap against the wood if her desk. "I'll tell you what, I'll see what I can do. Does that sound okay?"

"That sounds great Liz, thanks. This means a lot." Casey says with a smile as she stands up from the chair she was formerly occupying. She heads for the door but pauses and turns around as she remembers something. "Also, there's something else I meant to speak with you about. I needed to speak with you about putting in a transfer form."

Liz frowns in confusion before she quirks a curious eyebrow. "You are wishing to transfer units?"

"Oh, no. It's not for me."

**Surprise! I knew you guys would love this chapter! At leat I hope you did :3 leave your lovely thoughts!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Don't really like this chapter. Ah well. Enjoy :P**

Alex frowns as she sits up from where she and Casey had fallen asleep on the couch once again. She lips her head from the redhead's shoulder and stretches before she hears a knock on the door. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she yawns greatly as she pokes Casey in the shoulder. "Casey, there's someone at the door. You should probably sit up and make your self look presentable just in case who ever it is wishes to come in." she states as she gets off of the couch.

Casey frowns with her eyes closed as she mumbles something incoherent before she turns over. With a heavy sigh, she sits up and rubs the sleep out of her eyes before she drags her fingers through her hair. It's going to have to do at the moment. Blinking several times, she is a little surprised when she finds Alex walking back into the living room followed by a very red eyed Serena. "Serena? What's wrong?" she asks worriedly, lightly grasping her friend's wrist, pulling her towards the couch.

Serena says nothing as she sits down on the couch next to Casey while Alex opts for taking a seat on the other side of her. Biting down on her lower lip, she stares at her hands as she takes several shaky deep breaths and attempts to find her voice. "I-I didn't meant to be intruding on the two of you or anything. I really do apologize for my unexpected visit. I just…I needed."

"Serena, it's okay. Clearly there is something that has upset you and it's alright if you need to talk about it." Alex says encouragingly as she gives the other blonde's shoulder a light squeeze.

Nodding her head, Serena continues to stare at her hands that are now trembling. Her mouth opens but all that is able to escape is a small squeak as words fail to escape her. Licking the dryness from her lip, the typically talkative attorney slumps her shoulders as she feels like she has finally found her voice for the time being. "Sh-she was…s-she was cheating on me." she stutters, swallowing the thick lump that has suddenly appeared in her throat. "Liv was cheating on me."

"What? No, Liv wouldn't do that." Casey states with a look of confusion on her face as she shakes her head in disbelief. "How did…how did you find out?"

"She told me." Serena laughs bitterly, relaxing a bit when she feels Alex's hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. "I finally made time so that the two of us could talk. I was hoping that we could talk so we could try to fix things and possibly save our relationship. I told her that I wanted her to spend more time with me than she was because I was starting to feel neglected. I just wanted to be like we were before. Before I could say anything, she stopped me and she told me that she had something to tell me. I thought she was going to tell me how she realized how distant she was being and that she was going to start changing, but instead she told me that she had been sleeping with someone. I asked if it was Amanda and she said it was. She said that she just wasn't happy with how we were anymore and she didn't think that there was anything that could be done to fix it. Then she said that she didn't know how to tell me, but she fell out of love with me. I asked if I had done anything wrong, but she said that she just wasn't feeling anything when she was with me. That spark that she felt when we first got together just wasn't there anymore, but she felt that whenever she was with Amanda. She said that when she was with Amanda, she felt like she was in love whereas with me, she just felt like she was just settling for the norm. I didn't know what to say after that. I mean, all of those nights that she said that she was working late, she was really out fucking her partner. I thought the nights she didn't want me to come over were just because she didn't feel like company, but now I know that it's because she was sharing her bed with someone else. I really loved her and I thought that she loved me, but I guess I was wrong about all of that. I never thought that she would…would do something like that, you know? It hurts so much. It hurts so much to think about all of those nights I was lying alone, wishing she were there with me, she was holding another woman in her arms. I have never been in a relationship where I have not been cheated on and I at least thought that this time would be different. I thought that I had finally found someone who really meant it when they looked at me and told me they loved me. I was wrong. I don't understand what it is about me that people just grow tired of. I try to do everything to make sure whomever I am with is happy. I don't stay late at work consistently, and it isn't as if I ever lie about anything. I mean, am I ugly? Is that what it is? I-I just don't understand why they do that. I don't understand why they lie and say they love me when they just go off and find someone else."

"Serena, honey, the very last thing that you are on this earth is ugly." Alex says softly with genuine concern laced in her voice. "You're beautiful both inside and out and whoever can't see that is an idiot. Don't let them get to you."

Serena drops her head into her hands as her body begins to shake with sobs. Casey gets up to make them all some tea, leaving Alex to tend to the broken woman on the couch that she seems to have connected so well with.

"I just want to know what it was I did! I tried so hard and so carefully with her! I wanted to make her happy just like she made be happy, but I wasn't able to do that b-because she went out and she found someone else. It hurts so much. I literally feel like my heart has been pierced and now I'm just bleeding on the inside. The very last thing she said to me was how she had to go see about the woman she was really in love with. I felt like I couldn't breathe after that it hurt so much. I didn't know what I was supposed to do after that either so I just came here. I just needed someone right now…anyone."

As Casey reenters the living room with tea, a small smile graces her lips as she sees Alex wrap her arms around Serena, allowing for the distraught blonde to cry on her shoulder. Her heart can't help but warm at the chemistry between the two women and she mentally pats her self on the back for possibly setting up the basis for a potentially strong friendship.

**Later On **

While Casey sent Alex out to see a movie or something with Serena, she trudges around the living room with a very hyperactive four year old latched onto her leg. She lifts said leg, attempting to shake the child loose but pauses and places her hands on her hips as she fails miserably. "You're not gonna let go are you?" she asks with her hands still on her hips as she looks down.

Emma grins widely and shakes her head as she tightens her clutch on Casey's leg. She giggles when the attorney starts moving around the room again, attempting to get her to let go. "You're silly Casey." She says, laughing when the redhead stops and huffs greatly.  
"Oh, I'm silly?" Casey says as she quirks an eyebrow. "That's okay. When I get you off my leg, I'm gonna tickle you."

Giggling again, Emma keeps her tight grip on Casey's leg. She sticks out her tongue when Casey tries another method of removal but she once again fails miserably. Quickly, she lets go and speeds off in a direction, disappearing instantly from Casey's sight.

"Hey, where'd you go?" Casey calls out, pouting slightly when she realizes that Emma has just dragged her into a game of hide and go seek; a game that she was not particularly good at as a child. "Emma? Come out, come out where ever you are!" she calls out in a singsong voice as she walks around her apartment looking for the four year old. She looks in closets and behind the couch, but she just can't seem to find her. "Emma, come on," she whines like a small child. "I'm not very good at this game."

As she enters her bedroom, Casey smiles when she sees a pair of children's shoes sitting out from underneath her bed. "Gee, I wonder where Emma is. It sure is getting pretty hard trying to find her. I wonder if she's under the bed! HA!" She declares triumphantly looking under the bed, frowning when there is nothing there. "What…"

"Gotcha!" Emma declares as she latches on to the attorney's leg once more. "That means I win, 'cause I caught you!"

"Oh you win, do you?" Casey leans down and begins tickling the little girl causing her to erupt into a stream of shrieks and giggles. Finally, Emma can do nothing but let go and she finds her self being tossed onto the mattress and tickled some more.

"You win Casey, you win!" she squeaks as she attempts to wiggle free. When the tickling stops she scoots away and sticks out her tongue again. "You're still silly."

"I'm not silly. You're silly. Hey, come here for a sec." Casey responds as she reaches over to her night stand and pulls out a jewelry catalo before he opens it to a page advertising necklaces. "Which one do you think Mommy would like best?"

Emma's blue eyes beam with amazement as she stares at all of the sparkly diamonds on the page. "Ooo, pretty," she whispers as she tries to take in all of them at once. She then presses her tiny finger to her lips as she continues to stare at the necklaces. After a moment a wide smile forms across her face as she points to the very one that has caught her attention. "This one."

Casey runs her finger over the picture of the twenty one carat white gold diamond necklace. Smiling, she ignores the price of it because she feels that her woman deserves to be spoiled for once in her life. "Good choice. I like this one too." She says holding out her hand in which Emma slaps in a high five.

"Is Santa gonna bring it to Mommy?" Emma asks eagerly as she bounces with excitement.

"I don't know sweetie, but something tells me that I'm pretty sure that he will."

**District Attorney's Office **

Casey anticipates it when she hears the door to her office abruptly open and then slam shut a few seconds later. She also anticipates the angry brunette that approaches her desk, but what she doesn't expect is for a stack of papers to be throat in her face.

"What the hell is that?" Kim asks angrily pointing at the folded packet of papers stabled together.

"They…look like transfer forms." Casey states as she looks at the paper and hands them back to Kim who snatches them away.

"I didn't put in a request for a transfer."

"I know you didn't. I did."

Kim's eyes flare with anger as she abruptly holds up the papers. "And what the hell for? Do you enjoy your case overload and working on your own?"

Casey hesitates for a moment before she shrugs. "I figured that it would be difficult for the two of us to work together after…"

"After we slept together?! What are we, fifteen, and we can't get past the awkwardness?! Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"

"Well…yeah. I mean, I felt that we would get a lot more done with our careers if we didn't work with each other, you know? I mean, I'm sorry, but it is a little awkward coming to work after sleeping with your colleague."

Kim's scowl deepens and her arms fall against her sides. "Seriously. That's you're excuse? That has got to be the most half assed excuse I have ever heard in my entire life. Do you know how bad I wanted to get out from working under that idiot of a woman and now once I finally do, you send me right back!"

Casey frowns and points a firm finger. "Hey, watch it. That idiot of a woman you're referring to is my best friend, and while she may be a little insane outside of work, she is a damn good lawyer and you cannot say that she was never a good boss to you."

"Yeah, good boss. My good boss that desperately wanted me to sleep with her."

"And how is that any different from you sleeping with _me_?"

Kim's frown returns as she is the one to point the firm finger this time. "You will regret this." she hisses as she spins on her heel and storms away, slamming the door once again one the way out. Grinding her teeth against one another, she crushes the papers in her hand from anger. She might be losing now, but she'll be damned to hell if she's going down with out any kind of fight.

**Ah...well... I guess for this chapter I was basically setting up where Alex and Serena start building their friendship. Anyhow, Leave your thoughts? **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: This. Chapter. Is. LONG. Like…REALLY LONG. Like oh my gosh I've never written a chapter that was this long! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy, you might cry at the end because I know I did :3 **

"Casey, you really don't have to do this again. I feel bad about leaving her here with you." Alex says solemnly as she watches her daughter attempting to literally climb the tall attorney.

Casey grins at the two blondes across the room and shakes her leg as Emma has latched onto it once again. "No, really, it's okay. I offered right? Plus, we had the fun the last time that the two of you went to the movies; didn't we Em?"

Emma giggles and nods her head as she grins at her mother. "We did Mommy! Casey's really fun!" she exclaims as she begins to tie both of Casey's shoe laces together inconspicuously.

Alex bites down on her bottom lip hesitantly as she takes a deep breath. "I want to argue but I know that between the two of you, I'm probably fighting a losing battle." She says glancing between Casey and Serena who wear similar expressions. "I'll go get my coat."

Serena laughs quietly to her self before she folds her arms and shakes her head. "You shouldn't be surprised that it was going to take this much to get her to go out. You would think that the amount of time that she's been living with you, you would have picked up on her stubbornness."

Casey shrugs her shoulders and moves to take a step but ends up falling to the floor in a fit of flailing limbs as Emma giggles and scurries off in another direction. "I really should've seen that coming." The redhead mumbles as she turns over and begins untying her shoes. Grunting in frustration, she simply gives up and takes her shoes off.

"She's a smart kid." Serena points out with amusement as she helps the taller woman to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just taken off guard. Thanks for doing this again by the way. And thanks for agreeing to watch Emma afterwards. Alex really has no idea that I have all of this planned for her."

"Really it's no problem. That little girl is amazing and I love her already. Besides, it'll really give me time to not think about…you know."

Casey nods her head in comprehension as she slips her hand in her pocket and pulls out her wallet. She flips through her wallet for a moment before she produces a black card and hands it over to the shorter blonde. "Here. There's no limit on this card so don't worry about spending or anything. Make sure to buy her anything that she wants, no matter the price. Even pick out something for yourself and treat the both of you to lunch, I don't really care. Just make sure she's happy and has a good time today."

"Mmm, you sure do know how to keep a lady well pampered Miss Novak." Serena hums as she takes the card and examines it. "Almost makes me wish that I had snagged you first when I might've had the chance to."

"I just wanna make sure that she's well taken care of. That's all." Casey responds with a shrug, a warm smile spreading across her face when she sees Alex descending the stairs. "Hey gorgeous, are you ready?"

Alex nods her head as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and glances around her. "Where's Emma?"

"Hiding from me." Casey answers as she wraps an arm around the blonde's waist and pulls her into a light but warm kiss. "You have fun today okay? Just try to relax. Emma and I will be fine. Abbie's gonna come over and we're gonna make cookies and watch movies and do other stuff little kids like to do. Guess it'll give me a chance to recapture my youth."

"She says that as if she's old." Serena murmurs with a small chuckle. "We all know you'll forever be a little kid at heart Novak, don't deny it. C'mon Alex. We don't wanna run behind now do we?"

"I guess not." Alex responds, flashing Casey another warm smile before she heads for the door.

Casey reaches out and lightly grabs Serena's arm, pulling the shorter woman closer to her. "Make sure that she has something exceptionally beautiful to wear for tonight."

Serena grins as she holds up the credit card. "No worries. You've left her in good hands."

Later

"Serena, I don't know. All of this is really a little much. I mean…you really don't have to pay for all of this." Alex says nervously as she briefly takes her attention off of the woman massaging her hands in some sort of weird colorful hand scrub. "And what the hell are you doing with cucumbers on your face?"

"It's a facial treatment." Serena responds, relaxing back into the chair as she revels in the feeling of having her feet massaged and prepped for a pedicure.

Alex makes a face even though she knows that the other woman can't exactly see her expression. "But your face is already beautiful. Why do you need a facial treatment?"

Serena smiles at the compliment and can't help but laugh at the innocence hidden behind Alex's question. "This face has to stay beautiful honey. I don't just wake up in the morning and all of this just happens."

Nodding her head, Alex sits back in the chair and lets silence pass between them before she comes up with something else that she has been meaning to ask. "Hey, um, how come you aren't doing this with Kim? Isn't she your best friend? And you know…she can pay for her self?"

Serena is silent for a moment before she sighs and shrugs her shoulders. "Sometimes I need a break from her. I mean, it's not odd to need a break from your best friend is it? Well, anyway, I just thought that it would be good for the two of us to spend some time together. I just think that having Kim here would…well she would…"

"Be a complete bitch about everything." Alex finishes, earning a snort and a snicker from the woman working on her nails.

"Well, that's kind of a profane way of putting it, but yes. But let's not talk about Kim right now. Let's talk about something else. Like how you have Casey wrapped around your little finger."

At this, Alex blushes heavily and averts her eyes elsewhere in the room as a small bashful smile graces her lips. "I don't have her, as you quote 'wrapped around my finger'. She's just like that."

"Oh I beg to differ. I've never seen Casey pay so much special attention to a woman. She looks at you like you are literally the greatest thing to ever be created. Her eyes kind of glaze over and she gets this look on her face that screams just how much she's in love with you. I bet that she worships the ground that you walk on. Really Al, she's so in love with you she practically walks around with a sign on declaring it. It's really cute."

Alex blushes once again and shrugs one of her shoulders. "I guess you're right. I'm in love with her too. She's just so sweet and caring, and attentive. It's like all she wants to do is take care of me. And she's so great with kids. Emma loves her to death. Sometimes I wonder how I was so lucky to have met her like I did and then I wonder where my daughter and I would be if I hadn't. I've never been in love before and now that I am, I can't help but wonder where I got so lucky."

"True love does find the right people; the people who deserve it." Serena trails off quietly, the sadness in her voice not going unnoticed by the other women in the room.

"You deserve true love too you know." Alex speaks up, noticing the sadness in the other blonde's voice. "I mean, look at you. You're gorgeous, funny, super sweet; have an amazing heart, why wouldn't you deserve true love? Just because you might not have found it yet doesn't mean that you don't deserve it."

Serena removes the cucumbers from her eyes as she attempts to blink away her tears. "I guess you're right. That doesn't stop it from hurting though. I-I loved her so much, Alex. I'm still in shock because I can't believe that she would do that to me. I mean, I had my suspicions, but I ended up deeming them absurd because I felt like I could trust her. I felt like she would never do something like that. If she wanted to leave, she could have just left, but instead she chose to stick around and cheat on me. How is that fair?"

"It's not." The woman now painting Serena's nails chimes in. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be interrupting your conversation, but that isn't fair at all. My boyfriend cheated on me several months ago and his excuse was it was because he was bored with our relationship when in reality he was the one making it boring. It was stupid, and in the end I ended up burning all his stuff in my front yard. Made a pretty sweet bonfire that night too."

"Yeah, well, my now ex girlfriend is a cop, and I'd rather not give her a reason to throw me in jail." Serena responds with a sad laugh before she looks over to Alex. "Don't worry about me though. I'll be fine and we didn't come here to talk about me. We came to talk about whatever you want to talk about."

"That's right, and if I want to talk about you, then we are." Alex counters with a wide grin. "What about Abbie? I've heard you've been spending a lot of time with her lately. Is there something going on there?"

Serena makes a face and shakes her head as she nearly bursts into laughter at the suggestion. "Not hardly. It's not even like that."

"C'mon, I see the way she looks at you. And she's nice. A little weird sometimes but overall, she's nice."

"Yeah, talk about something that will never EVER happen."

"Never say never Serena, because you never know."

Later on after their time at the spa and after hitting a few of their stores, the two women are looking through a luxurious dress shop, browsing the racks. Rather, Serena is browsing the racks while Alex lingers a few steps behind, nervously gnawing on her bottom lip.

"Serena, have you seen the prices of these dresses? Why are we even in here?" Alex asks curiously as she watches her new friend browse the racks with a look of determination on her face.

Serena bites her bottom lip in concentration and she mumbles to her self as she plucks an eloquent off the shoulder red dress from the rack. She holds it up to Alex and tilts her head for a moment before she spins around and neatly drapes the dress over her arm along with the four others she has already picked out. "We'll hang on to this one too." She pauses as she picks up a rather stunning emerald green dress. "Ooo, this one would look great too because it'll make your eyes stand out."

Alex raises her eyebrows in confusion as she looks at all of the dresses that Serena has picked up in the last forty five minutes they have been in the store. "Serena, what are you doing? I don't need a dress."

"Of course you don't." Serena responds dismissively as she approaches one of the sales assistants with a warm smile. "I think that we're ready."

"Are you trying on all of these?" the young woman asks with a warm smile as she takes the dresses from Serena.

"She is, yes." Serena responds quickly shoving Alex forward as the two of them follow the woman to the back of the shop towards the fitting room.

The woman pauses outside of a door before she unlocks it and the trio steps into a large fitting area complete with several floor length mirrors, a couch, a coffee bar, and the actual fitting room it self.

"The changing room is right through there." the woman exclaims, handing the dresses to Alex who looks a little overwhelmed.

"Go on Al. I'll be right here waiting for you." Serena says as she practically shoves actually into the actual changing room. She smiles at the woman and manages a chuckle. "So difficult, that one."

The woman grins and nods her head in respond. "Please, if you need anything else don't hesitate to let me know. Miss Novak called and asked me to transfer the message in regards to our accommodations here today. Should I tell her that everything is running smoothly?"

"You can tell her that we are feeling very well accommodated here today."

"Well please, as I said before. If you need anything at all, let me know. Also, Miss Novak suggested that I have Sheila bring in our trays of refreshments for you and Miss Cabot. Shall I bring it in?"

"Yes, that'll be fine thank you." Serena responds coolly, squealing to her self when she is sure that the young woman has left the room. "That is way too cool."

A few minutes later, Alex hesitantly steps out of the changing room in a single strap navy blue dress that reaches just below the knee. She frowns in slight confusion when she sees Serena picking what looks like a pastry from one of the many trays now lining the coffee bar. "Where did the food come from?"

"I don't know, but it's damn good." Serena hums as she bites into the warm apple strudel. She closes her eyes briefly to savor the marvelous taste, but soon opens them, widening them when she sees Alex in the dress. "Oh my god, you look amazing."

"You really think so?" Alex questions as she wanders over to the floor length mirrors, showing her every angle of her self in the dress. "It really looks that good?"

"It looks gorgeous honey. And that one wasn't even my favorite one so I'm really excited about seeing you in the other ones! Go on, go, shoo. I wanna see you in the other dresses." Serena instructs with a waft of her hand as she begins to browse the fruit tray."

Alex rolls her eyes and can't help but laugh as she retreats back into the changing room to try on the other dresses. She has absolutely no idea of why she has been told to try on all of these dresses because she knows that she doesn't need a dress, but she also knows that it is best to just do as Serena asks instead of just arguing with her about it."

In the end, seeing as Alex can't decide on which dress to get, Serena simply settles for buying all of them so Alex can at least own all of them so she can have the chance to make up her mind later.

"Did you find everything to your liking?" the same young woman asks as she rings them up at the cash register.

Alex watches with wide eyes as the grand total comes out to be just a little over ten thousand dollars. Her mouth opens and closes several times once again as Serena simply hands over a black credit card with nonchalance. "Serena! Are you serious! That was ten thousand dollars!" she hisses fiercely.

"I know." Serena responds as she takes the card and the receipt back, quickly stuffing both of them into her purse. "I think that was pretty good considering what we spent at the shoe place."

Alex's eyes widen once again as they are leaving the dress shop. "Serena, but that was…ten thousand dollars! We didn't need to get all of them! I-I could have put something back."

Serena pauses and holds up her hand, shushing Alex before she sets into a fit of rambling. "Hey, shush. It's not an issue, okay?"

"Not an issue?! You just spent ten thousand dollars on ME of all people! And that was at the dress shop! It's not including the money you spent at the spa, then at the shoe store, and the other stores we went to and the clothing you've bought for yourself! Y-You didn't need to do that…"

"Alex, calm down okay? It's all taken care of. Just try to relax and have fun for today. Now, where do you wanna go to lunch? I was thinking Julio's."

Alex blinks blankly and is silent for several moments. "Don't you have to have name reference to get into the parking lot at Julio's?"

Serena looks at Alex as if she had just asked her what the answer is to two times two. "Yes, and…?"

"Can't we go somewhere less expensive?"

"Are you having a good time Alex?"

"Yes I am but-"

"But nothing. Haven't you ever wanted to go to Julio's?"

"I have but-"

"But nothing! C'mon, let's go. They have this enchilada lunch special that I have been dying to try."

**Later On**

"Hey, that's no fair! You cheated!" Casey exclaims as a pout forms on her face, much to Emma's amusement.

"I think Casey's just a sore loser." Abbie declares, earning a giggle and a head nod from the little girl. "See? She agrees with me."

Emma giggles and whispers something into Abbie's ear, causing her to laugh and nod her head. "She does doesn't she?"

"Hey, what'd she say about me?" Casey questions as she folds arm arms tightly.

Emma grins as she puts her hand over her mouth and shakes her head. "I'm not telling." She says, though it comes out as muffled because her hand is covering her mouth.

"She said that you turned the color of your hair when you lost." Abbie states, laughing when Casey scowls and blushes heavily, which only succeeds in proving Emma's point. "See? Kinda like that."

Casey rolls her eyes and stands up from her spot on the floor before she stretches. "I still think the both of you cheated. You conspired against me."

"You're right, she is a sore loser." Emma whispers in which Abbie nods her head in agreement. "Our cookies were better than hers too."

"Hey I heard that!" Casey exclaims as she points. "That's okay. I'll get the both of you one day."

"Sure you will." Abbie eggs on sarcastically as she rolls her eyes.

Casey opens her mouth to retort, but pauses when she hears the front door open and close, followed by the entrance of her two favorite blondes. "Hey, did you two have fun?"

"Yeah we did." Serena exclaims as she slips the shopping bags off of her arms. "There's not a store that we didn't hit."

"She's right, there isn't." Alex agrees as she sits down the bags in her hands and opens her arms for her daughter who runs up to her. "Hey sweetie. Did you have fun with Casey and Abbie today?"

"I did!" Emma says excitedly. "Abbie and I beat Casey in Candy Land and we also made better cookies than she did!"

Alex chuckles and places a kiss on Emma's forehead. "Well I'm glad you had fun."

"Hey Emma, how would you like to spend the night with Aunty Rena?" Casey suggests with excited suggestion in her voice.

Emma's blue eyes gradually widen and she looks back to her mother. "Ooo, can I Mommy? Please? Please? Can I?"

Alex frowns in confusion briefly as she looks between Casey and Serena who once again wear similar expressions. "Oh, um, I mean, it is rather sudden, I don't know if…"

"No, really it's fine." Serena chimes in with a dismissive shake of her head. "We're gonna have tons of fun? Aren't we Em?"

"Well, I mean…I guess if you say that it's okay…" Alex trails off, wondering just what's going on.

"I already packed a bag for her." Casey states, nodding her head towards the bag sitting by the door.

"Don't worry Al, she's in good hands." Serena states as she picks up the child's overnight bag and slings it over her shoulder. "Does she have any kinds of allergies or anything?"

"Strawberries." Alex states off the top of her head. "She's allergic to strawberries and-"

"She has asthma, but I made sure to put her inhaler in there as well as nasal spray and the rest of her medication." Casey finishes off, impressing Alex just by how much she has been able to pick up about her little girl.

Alex casts a smile in the redhead's direction before she nods her head. "Right. Hey, you know, maybe Abbie could huh, help you out with Emma, since they got along so great today?" she suggests with a tiny glint of mischief in her eye; a glint that doesn't go unnoticed by Serena.

Abbie's face lights up at the suggestion as she turns towards Serena for an answer. "Hey, yeah, that sounds like fun. Me and the little tyke had a lot of fun today, didn't we kiddo?" she asks as she allows for Emma to climb onto her shoulders. "I mean, if it's okay with you Serena…"

Serena gives Alex a look before she manages a smile and shakes her head. "No yeah, it's fine. I mean, I have a guest bedroom so…yeah, sure. Anyway, we'll leave you two to…ya know. Say bye to Mommy Em!"

"Bye Mommy!" Emma exclaims as she leans down from Abbie's shoulders and kisses her mother on the cheek.

"Bye sweetie, have fun!" Alex says, accepting the kiss but squeezing Abbie's nose when the brunette puckers her lips in mockery.

Casey draws Alex into the living room and wraps her arms tightly around the blonde's waist. "Did you have fun with Serena today?" she asks as she places a gentle kiss on the blonde's neck.

Alex hums at the warmth from the embrace as she nods her head in response to the question. "Yeah, I had fun. I can't believe she was so free to spend so much money today though."

"Well, it was my credit card, so it was completely understandable." Casey says with a nonchalant shrug. "I told her to buy whatever."

"It was _your_ credit card?" Alex repeats with widened eyes. "Casey you…you spent so much on me. I-I just, how…"

"Shhh. I just wanted you to have a good time and you did; that's what matters. And it's not over. Did you find some dresses that you liked?"

Alex can only nod in response as she is still rendered completely speechless by the events of the day. "Y-yeah, I-I did. Serena helped me pick some out."

"Then, how about you pick your favorite that you would want to wear for tonight? We have dinner reservations at seven which means that we should probably leave around six thirty. That gives us about an hour to get ready. Do you think that sounds reasonable?"

"I think it does." Alex responds as she receives a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you in an hour then."

* * *

That hour passes relatively quickly for both women, and soon, Casey finds her self standing rather nervously downstairs waiting for Alex so they can leave. She swallows thickly, but her breath hitches in her throat when she sees the blonde descending the stairs clad in an emerald green dress that make her eyes pop with tremendous color.

"Wow." The typically composed attorney whispers, feeling as if she is at a complete loss for words.

"D-do you like it?" Alex asks curiously as she looks down and examines her self. "Serena really liked this one. She said something about it making my eyes stand out."

"You look beautiful." Casey can only whisper once more as she leans forward and lightly kisses the blonde on the lips. "No one has ever looked more beautiful than you do right now and no one ever will."

Alex blushes heavily at the compliment before she smiles bashfully. "Thanks." She whispers in response. "You said we had reservations at seven. We should probably get going."

Casey nods as she helps Alex slip into her coat before she grabs her keys and they head towards the door. As soon as they slip into her car and pull out of the parking garage, she notices the Alex's keeps glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. Looking down, she notices that the blonde's hand is waiting patiently on the consol between the two of them. Smiling, Casey moves her right hand and interlaces it with Alex's left while she keeps her other hand on the steering wheel.

"So, I didn't miss that subtleness of yours as you put Abbie off on Serena." Casey states, breaking the silence between the two of them.

Alex chuckles as she gently rubs her thumb over Casey's knuckles. "Was I really being that obvious?"

"It was obvious to Serena, that's for sure, judging by the look at she gave you. It was smart though. I'll give you that. Lord knows that someone is gonna have to push the two of them towards each other if they want anything to happen."

"Yeah. I'm not intending to rush Serena, you know? I just want for her to smile again. I've never exactly met this Olivia but from what I've heard, I'm not sure if I ever want to."

Casey bites down on her bottom lip and clears her throat awkwardly as she continues to drive them to the restaurant. As they reach her desired location in a rather 'uppity' part of town, Casey gets out of her car and makes her way over to the passenger side where she opens the door and extends her hand to Alex who graciously accepts it.

After Casey hands her keys to the valet outside, the two women make their way into the high scale restaurant and Alex immediately begins gazing around at the amazing surroundings. She takes in the patrons, the waiters, the décor, and the over all atmosphere of the restaurant as the lovely scent of Italian cuisine fills her nostrils.

Casey smiles at the hostess standing behind a pulpit and she greets her with delight. "Good evening Katherine."

"Good evening Miss Novak." The slightly shorter blonde woman replies with a warm smile as her eyes land on Alex. "I assume that this is your dinner guest for the evening?"

"That she is." Casey hums as she slips her arm around Alex's waist.

"Well she's very pretty. I love your dress." Katherine says to Alex who utters a quiet 'thank you' in response. "Your reservations are ready, if the two of you would just follow me."

As they follow the woman through the restaurant, Alex glances around before she leans in to whisper in Casey's ear. "There are a lot of people here." she says as she glances at her surroundings once more.

"There are. But we aren't eating here." Casey responds as she takes Alex's hand and intertwines their fingers. She can't help but smile when she sees the look of confusion that the blonde is giving her.

Katherine leads to two to what looks like an elevator where she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a card. She swipes the card over the panel on the elevator and the doors open revealing the moderate sized lift as she holds out her hand, motioning for the couple to walk ahead of her.

Alex glances around the elevator as she absentmindedly begins to play with Casey's fingers. She watches as the hostess presses a few buttons on the panel inside the lift and she slightly jumps when they begin moving.

When they reach the top, the lift dings quietly and opens, reveling a rather large, dimly lit room at what appears to be the very top of the building. As they step into the room, Alex marvels in amazement at the glass windows surrounding the room, giving them perfect view of the city from forty two stories up. Her attention is then brought to an intimate table for two complete with a set of candles and a vast selection of wine.

"Oh my gosh, Casey, this…I don't know what to say about all of this." Alex gasps as Katherine pulls out her chair and hangs her coat over the back of her chair. "Really, I-I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." Casey answers, wafting her hand at the hostess signaling that they don't need anything else for the time being. "This is all for you."

Alex flushes as she looks around once again, taking in all of the lights of the city down below them. "It's really beautiful up here. How did you…how did you do all of this? This had to have cost you a fortune."

Casey shakes her head as she reaches across the table and grasps Alex's hand in her own. "Hey, what have I already told you? Money isn't going to be a problem. You deserve all of this if not more and you deserve someone who loves you and cares for you no matter what. You deserve to be pampered and treated like a queen Alex, because you're my queen."

"I never knew how much one person could love me." Alex whispers as she feels tears beginning to prick her eyes. "All of this, it's all so much, I just…no one's ever taken care of me like this."

"Well let me be that one person who takes care of you." Casey responds before she takes Alex's hand, leading her away from the table and over to the glass overlooking the bright lights and busy streets of New York. "You see all of that out there? I can give you the world and so much more than that as well as all of my love; because you have my heart." She whispers as she takes Alex's hand and places it over her own beating heart.

Alex realizes that she's crying and she can't exactly explain why. All she knows is that she has never been in love and she has never been in love like this before in her entire life. Unable to respond with words, she carefully loops her arms around Casey's neck and allows for the redhead to pull her into a passionate kiss that speaks more than her words could ever say.

**Did anyone besides me cry at all in this chapter? Anyone? Lol, leave your thoughts? **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Chapter for you. Hope you enjoy :3 **

Alex feels a small tinge of heat rush to her cheeks as she continues to absentmindedly move her salad around her plate with her fork. A small chuckle leaves her lips as she lightly stabs the lettuce with the fork, but doesn't move it towards her mouth. "I honestly don't think watching me eat a salad is at all that fascinating. I feel like you've been watching me for the past ten minutes." She whispers bashfully, finally looking up to see a pair of vibrant green eyes watching her through the candlelight.

"I'm sorry. I know it's rude to stare, but I can't help it. You're so beautiful." Casey responds as she continues to gaze at the beautiful blonde seated across the table from her. She marvels at how the light from the candles cast perfectly on Alex's face, highlighting all of the extraordinary assets of her facial features, right down to the literal and metaphorical sparkle in her eyes. "I don't think your realize how beautiful you are. There aren't a lot of women who catch my attention to where I just have to stop and look at them. Now that I really think about it, I don't think that there have ever been any women that I've come across that have had that affect on me."

Smiling bashfully once again, Alex takes another tentative bite of her salad before she dabs at her lips with her napkin. "You're so sweet." She responds quietly before she clears her throat quietly. "You don't have to answer this or anything, but I was wondering…would you tell me about your family? What it was like growing up in your household?"

Casey chuckles quietly before she sits down her own fork and leans back in her chair. "Ah, it was…interesting. I had a very good childhood. I got pretty much anything I ever wanted or could ask for, so there's no doubt in my head that I was spoiled rotten as a child. Especially since I was the baby compared to my two older sisters. It was nice though. My parents were there for me when I needed them to be. My sisters would look out for me whenever. I can't actually recall any time that I've ever had a bad experience when it comes to my family. They're just…they're there ya know? Maybe you would like to meet them sometime? I'm positive that my mom would instantly fall in love with you."

"Oh Casey, I don't know. Maybe we can talk about that a little later on…"

"Alright, if you say so, but I'm sure that they'd love you." Casey then pauses as her tone turns serious. "If you don't mind me asking, how did your mother pass away?"

The question renders a slight tug in Alex's heart and she casts her gaze down to her plate. "A-as I said before, I was only four years old so I can just barely remember a lot from that time, but I remember clearly what happened the day she died. It was a cold Saturday morning and I had woken up early for some reason. I guess I was just always a morning riser as a child. Anyway, I woke up and the house was…quiet. I mean, the house was typically quiet especially at such an early hour on a weekend morning, but it was a different kind of quiet. Something about that quiet seemed off and heavy. I got up from my bed and I left my room. God, it was so cold that morning, I bet I was probably shaking like a leaf. I left my room, and I walked through the halls towards my parents' bedroom. I-I opened the door and I saw my mom lying there alone. She had her eyes open and I thought it was really weird that she would sleep with her eyes open but I didn't think much of it. I walked over to her and I started tapping her trying to wake up. I spent maybe five or six minutes straight tugging on her hand telling her it was time to wake up, but she just wouldn't wake up. Finally, I climb into the bed and I wrapped my arms around her, and went to sleep, seeing as she was sleeping to. When I woke up, I remember hearing a bunch of whispered voices and I remember the maid lifting me from the bed and carrying me out of the room with her. I remember a lot of the house staff was crying and then there were suddenly a lot of people in the house and the fire department and ambulance and the cops where there. One of the maids sat me down and explained to me later that my mother wasn't coming back anymore. They said that she went to be with the angels. I still didn't understand; or maybe I just refused to understand. All I knew is that my mom was gone and she probably wasn't ever going to be coming back. The sad thing is, Father never cried. He never showed any emotion that he was sad. If you looked at him, you would have never thought that that was a man that had just lost is wife. He didn't cry at her funeral. He didn't even speak at her funeral. You just couldn't tell with him. He acted as if everything was fine and normal. It was right around then where he started treating me like he did and now I understand that it was because I was his unplanned accident that he didn't want to deal with. I was the child that they had never intended to have but they did anyway and it pissed him off. It made him sick to think about having to split the Cabot fortune between two heirs. I feel like my mother was the type of woman that never believed in having abortions or giving up a child, so that's the only reason I was even born into this family. I-It's so hard to think sometimes that I wasn't even supposed to be born, you know? I'm not supposed to exist and the only reason that I do is because my mother was a good woman. You know the cause of her death was so bizarre? She wasn't sick and she didn't have any health problems. She just...died in her sleep I guess. I never found out what happened after that. Not that I was welcomed to. The very last thing I remember my father ever telling me to my face was that I was lucky to be born and I should be grateful for that. I wasn't really a member of the family and I'm not welcome at any family functions. When I contacted him to tell him I was pregnant with Emma, he reiterated his point in saying that I still was no longer welcome into the family and now neither is she. He-he called her a bastard child. Most days I wish that I knew more about my mother and more often than not I find my self wishing that she was still here. Most people say that you can't really remember things that happened when you were so young, but I do feel like I was old enough to remember that my mother was a good woman."

Casey's heart breaks for the woman sitting across from her and she reaches across the table to give Alex's hand a light squeeze. "I'm sure that she was a great woman. You know how I know that?" she asks rhetorically as she brings Alex's hand to her lips. "I know that because she had an amazing little girl who has grown to be the most beautiful, amazing, thoughtful, and caring woman in the whole entire world."

Alex blushes heavily once more as a bashful smile once again tugs at her lips. "You really do know how to make a woman feel good and beautiful about her self."

"That's my main goal. To show you how much I love you."

Later on that evening, Alex finds her self being guided by hand up the stairs in the quiet darkness of the apartment. She's been in this situation a few times before, but the circumstances were of course different and she can't help but feel a little nervous. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she releases a shaky breath as she feels her back gently come into contact with the bedroom wall behind her.

"You know, I don't think you and I have ever slept in here together. We either end up falling asleep on the couch, or you have insisted going back to the guest room to sleep with Emma." Casey murmurs as she begins to place soft, gentle kisses to the blonde's neck.

"I-I haven't wanted to inconvenience you." Alex replies quietly. "I didn't want you to feel like you were obligated to share your bed with me. Especially after you."

"Hey, shhh. Don't talk about that alright? It was a mistake. I was drunk and it was mistake that doesn't mean anything to me. I don't want to think about that. I want you. If you'll let me have you."

Alex blushes shamefully as she averts her eyes elsewhere in the room. "I've never done this…" she whispers, laughing slightly when Casey gives her a look of confusion. "No, I've had sex before. I just-no one has ever made love to me."

Casey raises her eyebrows and she gently cups the blonde's face, turning her head so their gazes meet. "Hey, we don't have to do this if you don't want to. If you want to wait, we can, hell, if you feel like we never have to have sex, then we won't. I'm not going to make you do something that you don't feel like you're ready for. I would never, ever, intentionally make you feel uncomfortable in anyway.

"You're too good to me." Alex whispers before she takes a tentative step forward and meets Casey's lips with her own. "I want you to make love to me. I want you to take me and make me yours. Show me what it feels like."

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"So how do you think their date went?" Serena asks as she comes out of the kitchen and plops down on the sofa.

"They're probably getting it on right about now." Abbie replies as she pretends to glance at her watch. She attempts to smile but it soon fades and she blushes heavily when Serena simply just quirks an eyebrow. "Right, um, I know that Alex kinda volunteered me to help you which you probably don't even need. So…I can just…go."

Serena sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of her nose out of spontaneous frustration. "You don't have to leave. It's not that. Actually, I don't really know what it is."

Abbie nods her head before she turns her attention to her hands where she begins absentmindedly twiddling her thumbs. "You don't like me very much, do you?"

"Abbie, no, don't say it like that. It's not that I don't like you. I just…sometimes I question your…intentions on things…? I don't know. I can't really explain what I'm trying to say. Can we talk about something else?"

"Sure. We could talk about how you're pretending to be completely fine when you're not."

Serena opens her mouth to quickly retort but she quickly snaps it short when she realizes that she doesn't have anything that's on hand and ready. "I am completely fine." She murmurs in response, though her response doesn't sound convincing.

Abbie, who is buying none of it folds her arms and turns to where she is facing the blonde completely. "Serena, look at you. For the past two and a half hours you've sat here starting at nothing, looking as if you're about to burst into tears at any given moment. Then you pretend as if everything is completely fine and you're not hurting. If you keep pretending that you aren't hurting, it's not going to go away. If you keep pretending like it's not there, that doesn't make it go away…"

"Yes it does!" Serena exclaims, taking a deep breath when she realizes that she needs to calm down. "Yes it does. If I don't think about it, and I don't talk about it and I just keep it bottled up inside, it will just go away."

"That's not good for you and you know it. It's not good for your emotional well being and it will eventually start being bad for your health. I'm not going to force you to talk about what happened, but I am going to try to get you to realize that you can just keep it bottled up inside of you like this. It can't be good for you."

Serena doesn't respond as she continues to stare forward with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. After a moment it's almost as if she begins shaking in an attempt to keep her self from crying. "If you're going to sit there and pry."

"I'm not 'prying' I'm just saying. You can't sit there and make your self sick over this."

"I'm not going to make myself sick!"

"Yes you are. Look at you, you're shaking!"

"Stop meddling into my life! It's none of your business!"

"I just don't want to see you hurting. Geez, I'm sorry that I cared."

"Just…shut, up…shut up, alright? Just shut up and leave me alone."

"Yeah, and what if I don't?"

Growling angrily, Serena lunges across the couch and forcefully smashes their lips together. The kiss is angry and full of hidden sexual tension as well as hurt, frustration and any other kind of vicious emotion that can be listed as hands begin to violent tug at clothing. The physical encounter almost resembles that of an actual fight if not for the sexual intensions. Minds are clouded by anger, neither contemplating the regret that could possibly be soon to follow.

**Alright, honestly, I tried. Personally, I don't like writing sex scenes at all. Had I attempted to write one, this chapter would not have gotten out at all. I can't explain why I dislike them, but I just dislike them, plain and simple. I did try though, and that's why it took me so long to do this because I sat here staring at a blank screen for hours. **

**Blah, anyhow, enough of that. I did have a little bit of a hidden mystery in this chapter. Did anyone find it? Leave your thoughts :o **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Kind of a filler chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy :3 **

Frowning slightly, Alex feels her self being tugged from her peaceful and restful slumber that she had received after the night before. Cracking her eyes open, she can see bits of sunlight seeping through the currents of the wall length windows in the room and she immediately closes them as she continues to try to wake her self up. Finally, she manages to open her eyes and she can't help the sleepy smile that tugs at her lips as she comes to terms with the exact position that she's in.

Somehow when they fell asleep the night before, Alex had fallen asleep almost halfway on top of Casey with her head nesting finely into the redhead's neck, while Casey lie on her back with both of her arms wrapped protectively around her lover. Alex smiles at how warm she is from the embrace and she eventual decides on laying her head back down onto Casey's shoulder in her comfortable position.

"For a minute there I was afraid you were gonna get up and leave." Casey mumbles sleepily, though she keeps her eyes closed.

Alex is slightly startled by the spontaneous comment but she laughs despite her self. "Never. I am far too comfortable to get up and leave." She hums before she sighs contently. "You, Miss Novak, make for an excellent heater, and an even more excellent lover."

Casey chuckles at the comment as she pulls the blonde closer to her. "Well, you know that I'm not one to disappoint on anything." She responds before she opens her eyes grinning when her green eyes meet blue. "Well hi there."

"Hello." Alex responds with a small giggle before she lifts her head and lightly presses their lips together. The kiss is gentle and sweet, and it sends a warm cozy feeling surging through both women. "Is it bad that I don't wanna get up, for anything?"

"You don't have to. We could just lie here all morning, but something tells me that'd be a really crappy way for us to spend the day before Christmas Eve." Casey replies with a tinge of humor in her voice as she tries to sound nonchalant.

Alex's head shoots up once again and she looks down at Casey in complete shock. "Is it really almost Christmas Eve? Oh my god, where has time gone? It seems like just yesterday was Thanksgiving. Damnit, I feel bad because every year Emma gets so excited about Christmas and her little face lights up when she sees all the decorations and all the lights and stuff, and I've never had enough to…I've just never had enough, you know? I don't want this year to be like the last for her."

"It won't be." Casey says quietly as she pulls the blonde down into a warm, tender-loving kiss. "I've already done her Christmas shopping and I've already wrapped everything."

"Casey! You didn't!"

"Yeah, I did. The day that you and Serena went out to the movies, I took her to see Santa, so I kinda heard her list of everything she wanted. I might not have been able to get literally everything that she asked for, but I guarantee that I came pretty damn close."

Alex's mouth falls ajar for a brief moment before she shakes her head. "C-Casey, you…you didn't have to do all of that." she whispers, still in complete shock of the woman lying beneath her.

Casey reaches up and gently tucks a stray strand of blonde hair behind Alex's ear before she gently traces her facial features with her fingers. "Yes I did. I wanted to give that special little girl the very special Christmas that she deserves. I know it might not make sense right now, but I love her so much already Alex. She just…she has this pull on me and I can't help but care about her so much, the way that I do. I just want what's best for her just like I want what's best for you. I would give you the entire world if you asked me for it and I would do the very same thing for Emma."

Alex manages a tiny smile as she wipes at her eyes, blinking in an attempt to blink away the unshed tears that are burning behind her eyes. "N-no one has ever been there for her like that. She's…she's never had someone like you who has shown her that much love and care. W-we've always been struggling and there are just some things that she's not even used to. She's going to be so overwhelmed by Christmas, I just…I don't know how I could thank you for being so accepting of her."

"You already have." Casey whispers as she gently wraps her hand around Alex's wrist and pulls her down into yet another warm and tender kiss. "You've already done that by letting me into your heart. I know it wasn't an easy thing for you to do, but I am so honored and thankful, that you trust me enough to let me in. Every day, I can't help but be so glad that I allowed my stupid best friend to drag me into that strip club, because if she hadn't, then I probably would've never met you. I would have never been able to experience what it's like to be in love with you and to show you just how capable you are of being loved by someone."

"So in a way…you kinda have Abbie to thank for all of this." Alex replies with a quiet giggle as she shifts in Casey's arms once more. "Speaking of which, you know I feel just a little bad for dumping her on Serena? I mean, I know it was a little spontaneous, and just the slightest bit rash, but at the same time, how else would they take the time to talk to each other?"

"Probably never." Casey answers with a snort of humor. "I'm sure that Serena knows that you were only trying to help, no matter how much she tries to deny it. But right now, I think she's just more focused on trying to put back together the pieces of her heart that were basically smashed on the ground in front of her."

"I know. I feel so bad for her, you know? She just…she looks so sad and depressed and then she smiles and shakes her head in that way of hers before she looks at you and tells you that she's alright when she is clearly lying. I've been hurt several times in my life, but I don't think there is any kind of hurt like someone telling you how much they love you and then they don't really mean it at all."

Casey nods her head before she sighs partly out of habit. "We should probably get up, or else we literally are just going to end up lying here all day."

Alex can't help but smirk playfully at the comment. "I would think that you wouldn't have a problem with that? Seeing as you know, we're kind of lying here, naked…pressed up against each other…"

"Or, I'll tell you what we could do." Casey replies smugly as she swiftly flips them over and pins the blonde to the mattress. "We could get up, I could pour us a couple of glasses of morning champagne, and then we could go soak in the hot tub in my bathroom, seeing as it's much to cold for the one outdoors."

"I love the way you think. Lead the way."

**Meanwhile…**

Serena startles awake early that same morning and it actually takes her a few seconds to realize that she is in her bedroom. Groaning, she sits up and rubs fiercely at her eyes as her mind begins to replay the images of the night before like a movie that is stuck on repeat. She roughly drags her hands through her hair and swears under her breath as she begins to come to terms with just what happened last night. Babysitting the worlds most adorable little girl was not supposed to end in having a rather rough late night fuck with your boss; a fuck that makes for terrible embarrassing memories come the next morning.

Reluctantly, the blonde climbs out of bed and makes her way over towards her dresser, where she passes her mirror and she is met with bruises lining the base of her neck, down to her collar bone and even stopping at the top of her breasts. With a shudder that is only partly from the cold, she slips into a turtle neck and a pair of jeans before she ties her hair up into a mess ponytail and slowly makes her way out of the room. As she reaches the top of the stairs, she swears that she can smell what smells like the aroma of bacon and she swallows thickly as she realizes she can't exactly run from this.

After the world's slowest decent of the stairs, Serena then slowly makes her way towards the kitchen where she enters and finds Emma seated at the table eating from a plate of food. The little girl immediately looks up and greets her with the world's brightest smile, especially for that of a child early in the morning.

"Hi Rena!" Emma exclaims as she waves excitedly, her childlike mind rendering her oblivious to the blonde woman's mood.

"Morning sweetie," Serena manages to smile back as she gently pats the little girl on the head. She catches movement out of the corner of her eye and her heart drops as she realizes that she really doesn't want to say anything.

Abbie opens and closes her mouth several times before she clears her throat and figures out something to say. "I, um, I hope you don't mind or anything, but I made breakfast. There's still some if you want any…"

Serena shakes her head as she moves around the kitchen towards the coffee pot and pours her self a cup. "I'm not hungry." She murmurs quickly, still not making eye contact with the brunette who she knows is staring at her.

Biting down on her lip, Abbie taps her fingers against the counter tile before she spins around, frowning when Serena immediately moves in another direction as if she is avoiding looking at her. "Serena, can we…talk?" she questions, sighing heavily when the blonde quickly sits down her coffee cup and practically sprints into the other room. "Or…not…" she mutters before she shakes her head and follows. "Serena, seriously?"

"I don't want to talk about this Abigail." Serena responds tightly, internally cursing her self for the quality of her tone.

Abbie flinches at the unnecessary use of her first name before she hands her head and shoves her hands into her pockets. "I just want to talk about what happened. Are you going to avoid me now because of it, because to me that hardly seems like it's any kind of fair…"

Serena roughly combs her fingers through her hair before she sighs heavily. "What is there to talk about other than what happened last night was a mistake?"

"You…you think it was a mistake?"

"What else was it supposed to be? Two people who have no hinge of feeling towards each other having rough and violent sex? I…I needed to feel something last night Abbie, anything and you were…you were just here."

"You're still hurting…cause of Liv." Abbie says quietly, the statement coming out as a comment rather than a question.

Serena bites down on her bottom lip before she sadly nods her head. "I didn't invite you here with intentions to use you, but things…happen." She says quietly, feeling a little ashamed by her self. At the moment she feels like she is no better than Olivia is. "I'm sorry…"

Abbie is stock still for a moment before she shakes her head and forces a smile. "Hey, don't worry about it. Like you said…things, they happen right?" she repeats before she shakes her head once more. "Look, I'm just gonna…head out. Last minute Christmas shopping to do so…"

Serena sighs heavily at the brunette's attitude as she is making her way over to the door. "Abbie please, don't…don't sound like that." she says softly before she continues. "How am I supposed to feel? For the longest of times you were trying to sleep with my best friend!"

"Yeah well, she's not you…" Abbie whispers quietly, not bothering to turn around before she slips out of the apartment.

Serena groans loudly and smacks her forehead as she plops down face first onto the sofa. "I'm an idiot." She mumbles unintelligibly to the cushions realizing that she has probably just fucked up big time.

**Kinda on two opposite ends of the spectrum here. Wonder what will happen, hmm? Lol, leave your lovely beautiful thoughts? **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Another chapter for you. Kinda a filler again but enjoy. Filler chapter again. :3 enjoy.**

"Why in the hell are we working on Christmas eve? No one's even here!" Serena exclaims as she gestures her hands wildly to nothing in particular. "I mean literally, no one came in today, so why are we even sitting here."

Casey shrugs nonchalantly as she plants her self in the chair across from Serena's desk. "Well, seeing as we came in today, we get to leave early, and we get the day after Christmas off. So I guess that's kind of a good thing. Plus I know some people are gonna be using up all that vacation time they've been saving up so…I feel like the office is gonna be empty for quite awhile.

Groaning, Serena plops her head down onto her desk when she realizes that the wood is far too cold. "Not to mention that it is freezing."

"Actually, it's below freezing…"

"Casey, make no mistake, I will punch you in the face…with no regrets whatsoever."

Casey holds up her hands in surrender before she chuckles nervously. "Hey, I was just kidding. Calm down. I was just trying to lighten to moment. You actually sounded like Kim just a minute ago."

Serena makes a noise and mutters something unintelligible before she rests her chin on her hand in a rather bored fashion. She opens her mouth to begin complaining about the weather once again when she sees Abbie's assistant, Laura, trudging into her office with what looks like a very large stack of files in her arms. "Laura, what the hell is that…"

"A whole bunch of sheets of paper." Laura grunts quietly as she drops the stack of files onto Serena's desk. "A whole bunch of very heavy sheets of paper and that is just the first stack." She states before she exits the room and quickly returns carrying a stack that seems to be even larger than the first. "This is all of them."

"And what am I supposed to do with all of this?!" Serena nearly screeches as the second stack of files is dumped onto her desk with a loud 'thump'.

Laura exhales sharply before she folds her arms and shrugs. "I don't know. Review them, read them, sign them, look over them; whatever it is that you do. But here's the thing; Miss Carmichael told me to bring all of those to you and she said that she wants all of them completed and on her desk before the end of the day.

"All of them?!"

"Every last one of them…"

Staring wide eyed at the stacks of folders on her desk, Serena actually feels like she's going to be sick. She runs a shaky hand through her hair before she sighs heavily and deflates into her chair. "Thank you Laura. Remind me that I owe you lunch one day for carrying all of these down here."

"No problem." Laura replies, offering the two attorney's a goodbye smile before she exits the office.

Serena groans heavily and once again let's her head fall roughly to the wood of her desk, not caring in the slightest about the small tinge of pain the sears through her skull from the impact. "Ow." She mumbles robotically, not wanting to look up and realize just how much work she's about to do.

Casey whistles lowly as she stares at the amount of work that has been dropped on her friend's desk. "Whoa. That's…I don't think I've ever seen so much work all at one time…and you've seen what my office looks like on a regular basis." She jokes before she raises her eyebrows. "She honestly can't expect you to have all of that done before the end of the day. That's ridiculous."

"Yes well, I guess that I won't be leaving early like everyone else." The blonde grumbles glumly before she pulls the first file off of the stack to get started. As she begins reading through it, she frowns for a moment before her frown morphs into a deep scowl. "What the hell…"

"What's wrong?" Casey asks curiously, quirking an eyebrow when she sees Serena suddenly begin flipping through a lot of the files coming off the top of the stack. "Rena, what's up?"

Serena frowns again before she sits back in her chair. "All of these aren't my cases. Some of these are Kim's cases. Why am I sitting here doing her work…"

"Oh yeah, I think Abbie gave her the day off or something. She didn't come in today."

"She have her the day off and then she handed me all of her work!? How am I supposed to get all of this done before the end of the day Casey? This is ridiculous. Not once have I ever had to do this much all in one sitting. Not to mention half of the work that I'm doing isn't even mine. Do you realize it's gonna be freaking New Years before I get out of here?!"

"Hey, calm down." Casey says softly as she sees that the blonde is starting to come to the edge of hysterics. "Do you want me to help you any? I really don't have anything to do. I just came so I could leave."

Serena takes several calming deep breaths before she shakes her head. "No, I'll do it." she sighs heavily, slamming her finger on the speaker button when her phone rings. "Southerlyn…"

"Did you get those files I had Laura bring to you?" Abbie's voice questions through the speaker.

"Yeah I got them. Tell me something; why am I sitting here buried under a mountain of paperwork that consists of both my paperwork as well as Greylek's…"

"Kim has the day off and it needs to get done and you're the one that's here so…"

"Why does she have the day off?!"

"I gave it to her."

Serena is silent for a moment before she huffs irritably. "Abbie, that's not fair and you know that's not fair. There is no way that I can finish all of this by the end of the day. Not to mention I was planning on leaving at one."

Abbie snorts but it's not a snort out of humor. In fact, to be honest, it sounds rather mirthless. "Well then I guess you can't leave then. I know you. You can do it."

"Does this have anything to do with what happened two days ago…"

"Do your work, Southerlyn, and all of that better be on my desk when I asked for it." and with that, the line clicks and goes dead.

Casey frowns at the coldness in her best friend's voice before she looks up to Serena who has her hands over her eyes. "What happened two days ago?" she asks, her eyes widening when for some reason, things are starting to piece themselves together in her head. "Oh my god, you two had sex."

Serena flushes furiously at the statement and she removes her hands long enough to fix Casey with a glare. "The word sex is far too gentle for what it is that we did. Shit, the word fuck is far too gentle for what it is that we did."

"You have said more swear words in the past fifteen minutes than you have the entire time that I've known you." Casey states as she blinks with awestruck widened eyes. "What happened?"

"She kept…she kept prying, trying to get me to talk about Liv and she just would not shut up so, I, in my stupid angry depressed state kissed her to get her to shut up. Only it wasn't like a normal kiss. It as fierce and angry and very harsh. The next thing I know is we're fighting our way into my bedroom, tearing each other's clothes off in the process. I had no intentions of sleeping with her and I felt like utter crap when I woke up the next morning; and it most definitely didn't help that she kept giving me this lost puppy look and then she proceeded to want to talk about it when I clearly didn't. Finally, I told her that I didn't want it to mean anything, and that it just happened because I needed to feel something; something to get rid of the numbness you know? Then came that damned lost puppy look again and then I apologized for using her. She left after that. Now all of this," Serena pauses, taking time to gesture to the files on her desk, "I'm sure is her way of getting back at me for what happened. I apologized. What else am I supposed to do?"

Casey is silent for the longest of times as she continues to awkwardly rub at the back of her neck. "Gee Serena, that's…that's rough. That sounds like a question you might wanna ask Alex. I'm not exactly good at that kinda stuff."

Serena sighs for probably the hundredth time before she drops her head into her hands. "Well can you at least go talk to her? Tell her I'm sorry, tell her anything, I don't know! I just know that THIS, is not fair. Hurt feelings should not exchange into extensive labor."

"It's alright. I'll go talk to her." Casey says as she stands up and heads towards the door where she pauses. "And please stop sounding like Kim. One of her is enough. We don't need two roaming around the place." She concludes before she makes her exit.

Humming quietly to her self, Casey makes her way to her best friend's office where she finds the door open and peers in to see the lean brunette with her long legs stretched across the edge of her desk. "Hey, can we talk about something?"

Abbie shrugs her shoulders before she silently motions for Casey to close the door. "What's going on?" she asks, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Why are you being so hard on Serena today? I mean that workload you handed her was massive."

"She can do it. It wasn't that much."

"I saw it Abbie, it was a lot." Casey reiterates before she takes a seat in the chair. "Now I should be the one to ask you what's going on. Is everything okay?"

A look passes over Abbie's face as she takes her feet of her desk and averts her gaze elsewhere. "Everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be."

Casey raises her eyebrows before she folds her arms across her chest. "Because you have so many tells and I know you. One of your tells is when something's wrong you refuse to look at whoever's talking to you and you bounce you leg a lot. Kinda like how you're doing." she points out before she pauses. "Come on Abbs, I'm your best friend. You know you can talk to me."

"You have to promise not to repeat this…ever. Especially to Serena."

"I promise. Now talk to me."

Abbie is silent for a long time before she sighs heavily and averts her gaze to her wringing hands. "I'm not good with women." She states so quietly that her best friend almost missed it.

Casey blinks for a moment before she tilts her head and chuckles. "Abbie, what're you talking about? Have you seen yourself? Whenever you're at a club, women are practically always all over you."

"No, you don't understand. I'm good with women, but I'm not _good_ with women. I'm not like you. I don't know how to woo a woman like that."

"What does that have to do with Serena?"

Abbie chuckles sadly before she shakes her head. "I just wanted her to notice me, you know? But I-I didn't know how. I'm not good at just talking, you know? I tried what I usually do and I tried to flirt with her but she was never really interested. So, I did the stupid thing teenagers do and I tried other ways to get her to notice me since I couldn't talk to her. That lead to where I tried flirting with her best friend in hopes that she would notice me. It didn't help that Kim is really hard to flirt with seeing as she only has a thing for really dense redheads…"

"I resent that comment…"

"Anyway, flirting with Kim trying to make Serena jealous only made me look like an idiot. She and Kim would talk about me a lot and I could tell that she thought I was an idiot too. When she got with Liv, I didn't know what to do at that point. I guess I was still trying to make her jealous. I got her to notice me, but it wasn't in the way that I wanted because I can tell that she thinks I'm stupid. We, ah, we slept together the night that she was babysitting Emma. The next morning I figured we could talk about what happened because I guess I was hoping that maybe she was realizing something but she told me that it was just a mistake and she didn't mean for it to happen. No one would look at me first off and think that I have no idea of what to do with a woman like her, but the truth is, I don't. I'm just not good at that. You've fallen in love and found the woman of your dreams while I'm still stuck trying to get the pretty girl to even notice me…"

Casey sighs and clicks her tongue before she comes up with what it is she wants to say. "C'mon, don't act all down about it. You're a great catch you know. If we weren't so much alike, I'm sure that I would date you, but you're like my sister so that would be weird, but that aside; you honestly can't be as bad as you say you are."

Abbie narrows her eyes before she lets her arms fall limply onto her desk. "When I first met Serena, I stood their staring at her like a moron as I continued to shake her hand. She literally had to ask me for her hand back…she thought I was an idiot from day one Case, and she still thinks so. I just don't understand how you do it."

"It's a natural thing. But hey, don't worry about it. It'll all come naturally for you too, and when the time comes, I'm sure you'll know what to say."

"Yeah, right. I doubt that time will come; especially since she basically expressed she doesn't want anything to do with me. She looked so disgusted that morning after. I know I'm not bad in bed, but I guess it was just the fact that it was…me."

"Hey, don't say that."

"Well it's true." Abbie exclaims before she stands up and moves from behind her desk. "You don't have to lie to me just because you're my best friend."

"Abbie, come on don't…don't, ugh." Casey grunts out of frustration as she watches Abbie leave the room. She shrinks down in the chair and rubs her temples as she tries to figure out what she can do to help her friend.

**Yeah, it was another filler but I kinda need to give you guys some chapters that aren't so…heavy. Because unfortunately, as mentioned, a certain someone will be reappearing in the next few chapters Hehehe, leave your thoughts. **


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Christmas chapter! Even though it's not Christmas but it doesn't matter! Enjoy!**

"Mommy! Casey! Wake up!" Emma squeaks excitedly as she bursts into their bedroom and begins hopping up and down. "Wake up wake up wake up! It's Christmas!" She squeaks again before she practically runs out of the bedroom once more.

Casey groans heavily as she clinches her eyes tighter after being dragged from her rather enjoyable slumber. "What time is it.." She grumbles sleepily as she wraps her arms tighter around Alex, pulling the blonde closer against her.

"Five thirty." Alex mumbles in response as she cracks an eye open just barely enough to see the time etched across the clock. She can't help but chuckle when Casey groans once more. "We should probably get up, or else she's in a come back in here and bounce on the bed until we do get up."

"I know..." The redhead whines in response. "But you're warm. It's too hard to get up. Plus you're super duper warm and I wanna go back to sleep."

Alex giggles quietly as she forces herself to sit up. "Come on Case, wakey, wakey!" She says in a childlike couch as she lightly nudges the redheads shoulder. "Unless you want a hyperactive five year old To run back in here and jump on you until you can no longer breathe. It's your decision, but let me tell you, you might want to go with the option of getting up."

Casey can't help but whine once again as she forces her self to open her eyes and sit up. "I'm only doing this for two reasons. I love that little girl downstairs, and I love how incredibly sexy you look early in the morning."

Alex rolls her eyes and smacks Casey with a pillow because she makes her way out of bed. "Get up." She says with humor in her voice as she ties her hair up and saunters her way downstairs toward her little girl who is bouncing excitedly on the floor. "Hang on Em, I'm coming."

"Look at all the presets Mommy!" Emma exclaims as her eyes twinkle with excitement at all of the various sized presents siting wrapped underneath the brightly lite Christmas tree.

"I see baby." Alex whispers, still completely in awe of the numerous gifts wrapped nearly under the tree. Honestly when Casey said that she nearly got everything on Emma's list, Alex had no idea that she was being completely serious about it.

"You look over whelmed." Casey mutters as she wraps get arms around her lover's waist, pulling the woman into her.

Alex blinks for a moment as she opens and closer her mouth for several moments before she can respond. "I-I know. I am..I just can't believe that you've done all of this." She whispers is enough so Emma doesn't hear, but not that it matters seeing as the tiny blonde is focused in opening her presents.

"Mommy look!" Emma exclaims as she holds up a box containing five different sets of Barbie dolls. "Barbie Mommy! And she has a house!"

"Wow! That's super cool! You've ask ways wanted a Barbie!"

"I have! She has a house and friends and a car and everything! And look mommy! I got a Disney Princess playhouse set too! And baby dolls and clothes! Oh my gosh look at all the toys! Santa brought everything. He remembered me this time!"

Alex chuckles at her daughter's over excitement as she makes her way over to the tee where she scoops up a gift and joins Casey in the couch. "Marry Christmas." She whispers as she holds out the present.

Casey stares wide eyes and confused at the present wrapped in her hands wondering how she missed it sitting under the tree when she got up to drag all of Emma's presents down. "Alex, honey, you didn't have to get me anything." She whispers as she looks up into the blonde's eyes. "You've already given me all that I could ever ask for."

"I know. But I just really wanted to get you something. I know it's not much but...I wanted to." Alex answers before she motions towards the box. "Open it?"

Carefully, Casey peeks away the wrapping paper, soon revealing a fancy velvet box. She gently runs her fingers over the velvet before she opens the box. Her eyes widen and a silent gasp escapes her lips when she sees what looks like a golden pocket watch. "Alex, I-I don't know what to say." She whispers before she gently plucks the watch from it's box. She rests it's gently in her palm where she opens it and gasps again upon seeing a smiling picture of Alex and Emma inside the watch. "Oh my god Alex it's beautiful. But...why a watch?"

"Well that way whenever you look at it, you will always be thinking of Emma and me every hour." Alex answer before her expression turns hopeful. "Do you like it?"

"I love it but you didn't have to get me anything sweetie."

"I know, but I wanted to. You deserve to have something given back to you after all that you've done for me and Emma."

Casey gently places her gift in the table before she leans in and gently captures the blonde's lips with her own. "You're amazing. And I love you so much." She says softy before she grins and pulls tree boxes from behind her back. "These are for you." She begins as she offers Alex the largest of the three before she continues on. "But you have to open this one first."

Alex frowns in confusion as she takes the box and immediately tears away the paper. Her jaw drops drastically when she opens the box and sees what looks like the worlds most expensive necklace sparking before her eyes. "O-oh my god Casey, it's gorgeous." She exclaims. "You got it for me?"

"I did, because the finest woman in the world deserves the finest jewel in the world." Casey replies as she gently takes Alex's hands into her own. "Come on. We all gave to be dressed to go outside for your next present."

Once again, Alex frowns in confusion as she complies and does as she's told. She and Casey quickly dress before she turns her attention to dressing Emma who is slightly pouting about being torn away from her brand new toys.

"Casey it's freezing outside. Why are we going outside?" Alex questions as they are in the elevator making their way down to the lobby. She let's go of Emma's hand briefly to take the next gift being offered to her. As she is slightly expecting another piece if expensive jewelry, her immediate reaction is once again drawn back to confusion. "A key?"

Casey chuckles as she waits for Alex to figure it out. "Yeah but not just any key." She inquires with a smug quirk of an eyebrow as she continues to wait some more.

Alex continues to from as she into yes to examine the key and she carefully plucks it from the box. Her eyes widen yet again when she recognizes the Mercedes Benz emblem on what he now recognizes as a car key. She runs her fingers over the emblem before she snaps her head up towards the nervous redhead. "Casey you didn't."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Casey replies with a hint of mischief in her voice as she leads them out of the elevator and out of the complex where a sleek black luxurious car sits out front. The car that clearly matches the car key.

"Oh my god you did." Alex whispers as she clutches the key with a shaky hand. "Y-you bought me a car?"

Casey shrugs as she is trying to appear nonchalant. "You have to have something to get around in. Something that's not a bus or a taxi." She replies as another grin spreads across her face.

Alex flings her self into Casey's arms and crushes their lips together. "Oh my god you're amazing." She mumbles in between kisses.

"Hey! Lovebirds! There's a kid present!" Abbie shouts as she scoops up an excited Emma into her arms, spinning the girl around causing her to giggle.

"What is Abbie doing here at five in the morning?" Alex whispers as thy separate.

"Had to have someone drive it here and watch Emma so I could give you your next present." Casey concludes as she opens the driver's side door. "Your chariot Madame."

Alex giggles softly as she climbs in to the car and places her hands in the wheel. "Oh my god I love this car already." She whispers inhaling the scent that is that new car smell. She opens her eyes and finds Casey offering her the last box. She takes it and opens it, pouting when she sees a simple silver key sitting inside. "Another key?"

"Yep." Casey responds as she buckles her seatbelt. "Now drive."

"Where am I driving to?"

"Don't worry. The car will tell you."

Sure enough as she starts driving, Alex finds her self being led to a destination by the gps system. She quirks an eyebrow in confusion when she sees that the end of their route is at Casey's office.

"Why're we at your office building?" Alex questions curiously as they get out of the car and make their way towards the door. She watched as Casey swiped her ID against the door, granting them access. "Casey?"

"Hm?" Casey hums as she leads then into the elevator. She pushes the button for the sixth floor and leans against the bar of the lift as they begin moving.

"What're we doing here?"

"You'll see. But you're gonna need that key though."

Alex purses her lips tightly as they reach their desired floor. She curiously follows Casey out of the elevator onto the empty office floor. She glances around as they pass the offices labeled , and then , which renders her speechless. "We aren't going to your office?"

"Nope." Casey responds as they walk a few more yards before she stops and spins around. "We're going to yours."

"M-mine?" Alex repeats breathlessly as she glances behind her lover to see ' ' etched finely into the nameplate on the door. "C-Casey?"

"This is right around where that key comes in handy." Casey whispers as she gently guides the blonde's shaking hand towards the door.

Swallowing thickly, Alex turns the key and allows for Casey to gently push open the door. Tentatively, Alex walks into the office and glances around in awe. She sees empty bookshelves along with a leather couch seated by the window. She runs her shaky fingers over the top of the oakwood desk and she ends her journey pausing at the leather office chair sitting behind it.

"You can sit you know. It's your chair." Casey speaks up, stirring the blonde out of her stupor before she chuckles. "But I gotta warn you, Abbie had a thing for coming to other people's offices, sitting in their chairs and putting her feet on their desks."

"Casey how did you...I've just gotten my license to practice. This isn't...this is a district attorney's office. Even you didn't get here until two years after you finished law school. I'm literally a fresh fish in the pond."

"But you're good. I had my boss look over all of your files and transcripts and honestly I've never even heard of her being as impressed with someone as she was with you. If she didn't believe you could do it, she wouldn't have even thought about placing you here. She has faith in you Alex, just like I do. There's not a doubt in my head that says you can't do this. That's why I went straight to her. I want you to make a name for yourself and I don't want it to be because you know how to dominate a pole. You have a passion for law and you deserve the chance to live your dream. Think of this as your chance to prove your father wrong."

Alex finds her self blinking away tears as she stands up from the chair. She moves across the office and wraps her arms around Casey's neck tightly as she begins to sob into the redhead's neck. "No one has ever given me a chance like you have. I-I don't know what I can do to ever thank you."

"You've already done it by letting me love you."

**Damn that chapter me me feel like such a Sap. Anyway, leave your thoughts!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Another filler chapter here folks. And last chapter was so typo-ish because I typed it out on my phone at like one thirty in the morning. Anyhow, hope you all enjoy this one! That was typed out on a laptop this time, lol. **

"I cannot believe she brought…that, to the New Years Eve party." Kim grumbles darkly, more to her self than to the other women in her presence.

Serena fixes her icy best friend with a glare before she shakes her head in complete disapproval. "Why are you always so condescending about people that you don't even know? If you actually took the time to get to know Alex, you might find that she is actually a really sweet person. It's what I did."

Kim snorts mirthlessly before she briefly turns her attention back to her champagne glass. "Yes, well, I do believe that she may be the exception. Look at her Serena. She was practically a prostitute and-"

"She was a stripper Kim, that's a completely different thing than a prostitute."

"Yeah, she might've been a stripper legally but you can't look at me and say that you don't believe that she's ever slept with one of her customers for a little bit extra cash. I mean look at her. Then she has Casey spending so much money on her. It's sickening."

"You're jealous." Abbie chimes in with narrowed eyes. "Casey's in love with her and their love is really none of your concern."

Challenging Abbie's scrutinizing look, Kim rolls her eyes as she folds her arms. "I'm not jealous; I was just simply stating a fact. I know how to spot a gold digger when I see one; and I see one."

Serena sighs heavily before she shakes her head once more. "Can you at least pretend to be nice?"

"Yeah, I mean you are going to have to work civilly next to her." Abbie states flatly, mentally swearing when she realizes that she has said far too much.

Kim's eyes widen briefly before she turns to where she is fully facing Abbie. "What do you mean 'work civilly next to her'? What do you know?"

"Nothing." Abbie mumbles as she attempts to duck away from the conversation only to find her self blocked by the two persistent women who look as if they are about to literally squeeze information from her.

Serena quirks an eyebrow as she purses her lips tightly. 'What do you know that we don't Abbie, spill it."

"I don't know anything."

"Liar. Tell us."

"Alright, alright," Abbie relents with a reluctant sigh. "The reason Alex was working where she was, was because she was trying to pay off law school so she could graduate and get her law license. Well, she somehow did, and apparently she's really good for being fresh out of the water, because Liz gave her a position."

The looks on both of the other women's faces are both looks of shocks, though their underlying meanings are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Serena clasps her hands together as a wide smile breaks her features while Kim's mouth falls open and a deep scowl creases across her face.

"That's wonderful!" Serena exclaims, already having known that the other blonde was indeed in law school, but she hadn't learned of her success just yet.

"That thing was in law school!?" Kim exclaims, probably a little louder than usual. "Why!? When you say position you mean as like a secretary at the front desk right?"

"I'm sure someone said the same thing about you." Abbie mutters quietly to her self before she clears her throat and shrugs. "No not as the front desk secretary. I think she gave her the open position that was in SVU seeing as Casey is kind of by her self there."

Kim's eyes widen once more and her jaw practically hits the floor. "SVU!? That was supposed to be MY job! Are you fucking kidding me right now?! My job has been given to some two dollar stripper and I'm stuck back into working for the biggest disappointment to ever set foot out of Harvard!"

Abbie's mouth falls open at the offensive comment and instead of responding she simples shakes her head before spinning on her heel, storming off in other direction, leaving a rather fuming second chair in her wake.

Serena's lips purse tightly as she once again glares at her best friend. "That was extremely uncalled for." She states disapprovingly.

"Well it's true!" Kim hisses in response before nodding in Abbie's direction. "Either one of us should be doing her job because clearly she doesn't know how. You know that you or I deserve that position. I mean honestly, do you ever get tired of working for someone who has an attention span of a two year old? Damn it Serena, you know that someone else deserves that job."

"Stop. You know that she tries."

"Obviously not hard enough."

Serena huffs quietly before she nudges Kim roughly in the ribs as she sees Alex and Casey heading their direction. "Well, at least try to act civil right now because they're coming over here." she instructs, rolling her eyes when the brunette mutters something unintelligible into her champagne glass.

"Hi Serena!" Alex greets her friend enthusiastically, her grip on Casey's hand tensing a little when she briefly catches the dismissive look she receives from Kim. "Kim, it's, um, always a pleasure?"

"Mhm." Kim hums as it takes everything within her self not to roll her eyes in complete disgust.

This, unfortunately, goes unnoticed by Casey who is too busy glancing around their surroundings. "Where's Abbie? I could've sworn I saw her earlier."

"She's around. Probably went to the restroom or something." Serena responds quickly with a nervous chuckle before she spontaneously pulls Alex into a hug. "I heard the news! That is so amazing Al, congrats!"

"Thanks." Alex replies as she returns and relaxes into the hug. "I'm really thrilled about it, but at the same time I'm also very nervous about starting."

"Well, if you ever need anything, Kim and I will be more than happy to help you." Serena offers, internally scowling when she hears the disgusted snort from her best friend. "Right Kimberly?"

Kim flinches at the second elbow in her ribs before she forces a rather tight smile. "Yes, that's right." She manages before she takes to sipping on her champagne some more. "At least you aren't employed under a monkey."

"Kim!"

"Just saying…"

Alex blinks in confusion and slight intimidation before she feels Casey's arm slip around her waist and she immediately relaxes into the hold. Her heart warms when she feels soft lips against her ear, whispering to her that she fits in just fine already. Nodding her head, she smiles when she receives a light, but lingering kiss on the cheek in response. God, how much she loves this woman.

Before anyone in the group and spark a new conversation, Serena blanches completely as if she has just seen a ghost. Her eyes widen and her mouth falls slightly ajar. Alex is thoroughly confused as she turns and sees her friend's gaze locked on the dark haired woman heading their direction.

"Well, I'm a little surprised to see that the three of you aren't pent up in your offices working the night away on Christmas Eve." Olivia chuckles lightly.

"We could say the same." Casey replies with as she clears her throat, attempting to keep the awkwardness out of the situation, but she's afraid that she is much too late for that. "How is Amanda?"

Glancing at Serena out of the corner of her eyes, Olivia simply shrugs in response. "She's recovering pretty well I guess. No one thought she was gonna live so…" she trails off as her eyes finally land on Alex. "Um, hello. I don't believe that we've met."

"Oh, um, we haven't." Alex responds as she extends her hand in greeting. "Alex Cabot."

"Cabot? Any relations to Rachel?" the detective questions as she returns the handshake.

Alex sighs heavily as she casts her eyes towards the floor. "Yes, unfortunately, that is my sister…" she mumbles quietly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No it's fine…"

"Great." Liv responds before she clears her throat. "I'm Olivia Benson, by the way, but you can just call me Liv."

A look of realization briefly crosses Alex's face and she quickly glances at Casey who nods, silently answering her question. "Oh, well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Detective. I've heard so much about you."

Olivia's heart briefly sinks at the comment though her smile doesn't waver. "Well, all good things I hope." She mentions before actually catching eye contact with her ex. "Hi Serena."

Serena opens her mouth to respond to the greeting, but instead only a small squeak escapes her lips as she shakes her head and hurries away from the group. Kim pauses for a moment before she slashes the rest of the champagne onto the detective before hurrying after her best friend.

Casey puts her hand over her mouth and pretends to cough to keep from laughing out loud. "Liv, are you alright?" she questions, continuing to cover up her snickers.

Olivia wipes her face and narrows her eyes at the drink that has succeeded in ruining her shirt. "Yeah. To be honest, I expected worse." She sighs before she shakes her head and walks off.

Once she is sure the shorter woman is out of earshot, Casey finally let's her chuckles roam freely. "It was so hard not to laugh at that." she says before she catches Alex's gaze. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"Nothing…" Alex replies reluctantly.

Casey purses her lips and shakes her head as she clasps Alex's hand and leads them outside where she turns and faces her lover. "Tell me, what's bothering you because there's something."

"I don't know…I guess I just still kind of feel like I don't fit in with everyone else here." Alex says quietly as she absentmindedly begins to play with Casey's fingers. "I mean, everyone here comes from money and I'm just…I don't know."

"Baby, you realize none of that matters right? Status, money, luxuries, none of that should matter; you just need to be you."

"I-I know that I just…I just want to fit in." Alex replies quietly. She is drawn out of her stupor by the noise of people counting down from ten into the New Year.

Casey pulls the blonde into a warm embrace as several fireworks go off all over the city ringing in the New Year. "You know," she whispers warmly into Alex's ear. "Most people bring in the New Year with a New Year's kiss."

Alex smirks as she slowly leans in and warmly connects their lips together in a soft, gentle, yet loving and passionate kiss. "Happy New Year, Baby." She whispers as she rests her head on Casey's shoulder.

"Happy New Year indeed."

* * *

"Babe, what're you doing?" Casey questions curiously as she comes out of the kitchen one day and plops down onto the floor next to her girlfriend who is seated in the middle of a bunch of spread out files.

Alex looks over her glasses and immediately begins attempting to put away all of the files. "Nothing." She murmurs quickly, her heart sinking when Casey lightly grabs her wrists, halting her movements.

"Hey, show me." Casey says softly as she picks up one of the sheets of paper lying in front of her. Tilting her head, she quickly scans over the file and her eyes are immediately drawn to the name 'Meredith Cabot' at the top of ever sheet of paper. "Is this your mom?" she questions softly as she flips the page.

"Yeah," Alex mutters quietly before she removes her glasses. "I know I shouldn't be looking at this and it was such a long time ago, but I just…I want to know what happened to her. She just…she was so healthy Case, and she just died out of nowhere, none of this is making any sense."

Casey frowns as she continues to look over the files. "Alex honey, this file said that she had severe heart problems."

Alex's glassy eyes widen as she shakes her head vigorously. "But she was never sick! How could she be so healthy but have heart problems?"

"I don't know honey, but that's what it says. It says that she died from severe heart complications."

"That doesn't make any sense! Casey, I—I just want to know what happened to my mom, Casey. I just want to know what happened."

Casey's heart breaks as the blonde begins to break down into hysterics. She gently pulls Alex into her lap and begins gently rocking her back and forth as she places a soft kiss to her forehead. "It's alright sweetheart."

"She was the only family I had that ever cared about me Case. I never got to know her like I should have. S-she was my mom Casey and I…I just never knew her. I just want to know what happened to her. I want to know why she left me."

"I know honey. I know…"

**Hm, leave your thoughts? **


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I apologize in advance for any errors because this was once again done on my phone. But I hope you guys enjoy it no less :)  
**  
Serena sighs heavily as she makes her way to her office on a rather early Tuesday morning. Some days it is just way too hard for her to feel up to coming to work, but she is there nonetheless. Of course then, people probably would have been blowing up her phone all day long and that is something that is isn't quite sure she would be able to handle.

Unlocking her door, Serena makes her way into her office and practically dumps all of her stuff on her desk. She sits down in her chair and stares at nothing for probably five minutes before she squeezes her eyes shut and groans as a headache slowly begins to form. Part of her, most of her, wishes that she had just stayed home.

What happened New Years Eve, was probably about fifteen times worse than what happened two days before Christmas Eve, simply because she can't quite remember everything that happened New Years Eve. All she knows for certain is that she slept with someone; that same someone. That same someone oh she hasn't even spoken to since then despite the numerous phone calls and text messages. Serena knows that she messed up, and quite frankly, she isn't sure that she is ready to see just how much she has exactly.

What she does vaguely remember about New Year's Eve, is the spontaneous appearance of her ex girlfriend. She remembers standing there not being able to speak before all she could do was run off to be by herself outside simply so she could cry her eyes out. She remembers Kim following her and holding her, trying to explain to her that everything will be fine, but she was probably a little too drunk from drinking a little too much and when you're drunk, crying seems like the only option sometimes.

Serena then kinda remembers there being a change. She kinda remembers Kim's reluctance as she got up and left. She kinda remembers Abbie sitting down next to her, comforting her. She kinda remembers kissing the brunette after the countdown into the new year. She hardly remembers begging Abbie to take her home, but not to her home; she needed a break from that. She hardly remembers the trip to Abbie's apartment. She hardly remembers the two of them practically stumbling through her front door, attached at the face, tearing at each other's clothing jut like the first time. She hardly remembers being carried into the bedroom and being laid down on the bed. She doesn't remember anything after that. She was much too raw and exposed and drunk at the time to do such a thing.

What Serena does clearly remember is waking up early the next morning  
to find her self in someone else's bed. She clearly remembers quickly getting out of bed, scrambling around find her clothes and to get out as quickly as possible. She clearly remembers the phone call she received later on that day; the phone call that she ignored after several moments of hesitation. She clearly remembers the rest of the phone calls that she ignored, along with the few text messages and even a voicemail or too that she didn't even bother to listen to.

To say that she feels bad is an understatement but at the same time, her inner conscience is telling her that she is supposed to feel bad. Her inner conscience is telling her that she should have just swallowed her pride, done the noble thing, and just picked up the phone. But she didn't, and this tiny little monster called guilt is eating her alive at the moment.

Swallowing thickly, the blonde haired attorney stands up from her chair after moments of hesitation. She stops to pick up her desk phone, wondering if she should voice her oncoming visit, but eventually, she settles on putting the phone back in talk cradle before she leaves the sanctuary of her office en route to her destination.

The entire walk down the hallway is a blur to her. People pass by and speak to her politely, but all she can manage to do at the moment is return that politeness by offering a small smile and a head nod. By the time she nearly gets to where she is going, she finds that her heart is hammering heavily in her throat and her palms are beginning to sweat. Honestly, the last time she felt this way she is sure was the time that she prosecuted her very first case.

Before she can lose her nerve, Serena takes a deep breath and rounds that very last corner until she finds her self in an open doorway. As she opens her mouth to voice her presence, her mouth snaps shut immediately as her eyes take in the condition of the mostly empty office and the woman in the center placing the remaining parts of her belongings into a box on her desk.

"W-what're you doing?" Serena stammers in confusion and with a lot less confidence than she had originally intended.

Abbie pause briefly at the voice before she ignores it and continues to place the items on her desk into the box. A small frown is visible on her face as she begins double checking all of the drawers making sure that she's got everything.

Biting down in her bottom lip, Serena sighs quietly as she steps into the office, closing the door behind her to ensure that the other woman doesn't have any other means of escape. "Are you moving offices?" She asks curiosity, still a little caught off guard by the emptiness of everything around her.

"No," Abbie responds tightly though she refuses to look away from what she's doing. "I quit."

"You-you quit!?" Serena exclaims, probably much louder than necessary, but she can't hide her shock. "What do you mean you quit?!"

"I mean exactly what it sounds like; I quit. I quit and now I'm packing up my stuff."

"But why did you quit?"

"What does it matter to you?" Abbie replies harshly as she finally looks up, not bothering to mask the venom in her voice or the faint look of anguish on her face.

Serena winces at the harsh intensity of the words but she immediately recovers what little composure she had when she first walked in. "I-I guess I deserve that. I know I'm probably the last person you even want to look at right now, but I was kind of hoping that we could talk."

Abbie chuckles and the chuckle is dry, humorless, mirthless, and everything else that's in between. "Oh, so now you want to talk to me. Now that you see I've quit my job, you want to talk. Now that it's on your terms and you feel like it, you want to talk. What about when I was calling you for seven straight days? What about then? What about all of those phone calls you ignored?"

"It was hard for me Abbie..." The blonde whispers.

"You think it wasn't hard for me?! You don't even remember what happened that night, do you?" Abbie questions, her frustrations increasing when she receives only silence in response. "DO YOU!?"

Serena is slightly startled by the question and she vigorously shakes her head in response. "No l...I don't." She answers quietly. "At least not, not all the way."

"I don't know why I'm surprised." Abbie grumbles, more to her self than to the woman in her presence. "I should have figured it out when I woke up and you were gone; not even a note or anything and even a note would have been shallow. I called you I don't know how many times after that and I wasn't even worth the response apparently. Do you get off on using people like that?"

"I didn't use you," Serena states involuntarily and defensively as she takes slight offense at the comment.

"Wow. Okay, so if you didn't use me, then what was the purpose of you begging me to tell you I loved you?"

Serena is once again rendered speechless and her mouth falls slightly ajar. Had she really some such a thing? Unfortunately, she takes too long to answer, because the angry brunette continues on.

"You don't remember that either. Here, let me remind you. 'Oh, Abbie please, please don't stop! I need it! I need you to tell me. Tell me you love me. Oh god Abbie please!'" Abbie mocks in a falsetto voice before her face turns cold again. "That's what you screamed right before you came for me."

Serena feels like she is going to be sick, and she wraps her arms tightly around her body as she feels like she is starting to shake. "Oh god, I'm so sorry." She whispers, feeling more than ashamed.

"It's my own fault because I'm the one that did it anyway. I'm the one that finally found my nerve and finally told you how much I'm in love with you."

"F-finally?" Serena repeats as she blinks rapidly. "You're in love with me?"

"It doesn't seem to even matter now, since you don't even remember sleeping with me; for the second time. I guess I just thought this time would be different." Abbie trails off quietly, her vulnerability showing briefly before her mask is back up again.

"But why are you leaving?"

"I'm done with this. I'm fine pretending to be okay when I'm not. I'm sick of being insulted and berated over every little thing that I could possibly do wrong. I'm sick of being called an idiot and told that I don't know how to do my job. Then there's you, I can't...I just can't deal with this anymore. I can't be around you all the time like this, feeling like we might go to bed a third time only for you to feel your void because Liv is gone."

"So you're running away."

"I'm not running away!" Abbie shouts, heavily slamming her fist down on the desk. She sees that she has slightly frightened the blonde and she forces her self to relax. "I just need to get away. There's someone out there who can do this job better than I can anyway."

Serena bites down on her lip once again before she shakes her head. "Please tell me you aren't quitting because of me." She whispers sadly.

Abbie hoists the box into her arms as she begins heading towards the door with the last of her things. "I may have a reputation for certain things, but lying isn't one of them." she says quietly before she exits the office.

Serena glances around the completely empty room before she spins around, opening her mouth to call after Abbie, but closing it when she realizes the brunette is gone. She leans against the wall just outside the door as she resists the urge to bash her head into it. She knew she messed up beforehand but she hadn't realized it was to such a great extent.

She digs her palms into her eyes as her headache begins to increase. She blinks repeatedly when she feels a presence in front of her and she looks up to find her self met with her rather satisfied looking best friend.

"I would think you would want to join the celebration party." Kim snarks as a rather smug grin starts to tug at her lips. "Loosen up, it's a great day!"

Scowling, Serena actually snarls a bit before she slaps all of the files out of the other woman's arms and storms off in the opposite direction.

"Who pissed in her cornflakes this morning." Kim grumbles as she squats down to pick up her papers. But none of that matters because he hopefully sees a promotion in her future.

**Meanwhile...  
**  
"Madame foreman, has the jury reached a verdict." Judge Lena Petrovsky questions as she slightly reclines in her chair.

"We have your honor." The woman in the jury box responds before she clears her throat. "We the jury, find the defendant, Clark Montgomery, guilty of all charges."

Alex releases a breath that she hadn't known she had been holding all up until the verdict was read. She doesn't hear anything the judge says after that and she just barely catches the words "court dismissed". She immediately places all if her papers back into her attaché before she finds her self called to the bench by the judge who slightly intimidates her.

"I believe congratulations are in order Miss Cabot." The judge states with, what Alex deems, the world's tiniest smile. "I must say that I am supremely impressed with you, and make no mistake when I say I am not easily impressed. Elizabeth apparently knew what she was doing when she hired you."

"Thank you, your honor." Alex responds with a smile and a light nod before the judge dismisses her. She grabs her attaché and quickly exits the courthouse, excited to get back to the office to tell Casey about her very first win.

Her heels clack against the pavement as she makes her way through the parking lot towards her far. She reaches into the pocket of her blazer and retrieves her keys, ready to unlock her car when she hears a voice behind her.

"Well, well, well. Would you take a look at what we have here."

Alex's eyes widen to the size of her car tires as she recognizes the voice clearly. Swallowing thickly, she spins around only to be met by a tall, thin blonde with icy blue eyes wearing a smirk on her face. Alex actually has to swallow a few more times before she forces her voice to come out in a hoarse whisper.

"Rachel..."

**Oooo cliffy! I haven't done a cliffy in a while hehehe :3 leave your thoughts!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hm…is all I'm gonna say. Enjoy. **

Serena covers her eyes with her hands as she sits across from her red haired friend who is fixing her with a look that portrays that of disappointment. She takes a shuddering deep breath as she attempts to keep from crying and she rapidly blinks away the tears that are sitting at bay. She shouldn't cry, because she feels like she has absolutely no right to cry after what she's done.

"She didn't tell you?" the blonde whispers after a heavy moment of silence seeing a she has absolutely no idea of what she was going to say when she very first walked in.

Casey shakes her head in response, but pauses when she realizes that Serena isn't looking up at her. "She never said a word. It actually hurts a little because I feel like she thought she couldn't trust me to tell me what was going on in her head. Not once did she even mention that she was thinking about it. God Serena, I love you to death, but I'm not going to sugarcoat this here and say that this isn't your fault."

Groaning, Serena presses her hands deeper into her eyes as she nods her head. "I know. I know I messed up and by the time that I realized I messed up, it was too late! It was too fucking late. I just…god, I could have prevented this. I could have just picked up the damn phone and all of this wouldn't have happened if I had just fucking talked to her like she wanted me to. God Case, I didn't know she was in love with me. I really had no idea…"

"You honestly had no clue? Especially after what happened between the two of you the first time, you really had no clue that she felt something for you? Come on Serena, you're a smart woman and I know you are not that clueless."

"I have a lot going on in my head right now alright!? I don't think either of you realize just how hard it is to think clearly when your heart is still hurting because the woman you loved so much and gave everything to, just cast you aside for someone else!"

Casey clicks her tongue quietly before she shakes her head but this time in disapproval. "You're right, I don't know what it's like, but I do know what it looks like when a heart is confused. Look, I'm not saying that you have to love Abbie or anything, because it's your decision, but I just want you to realize the extent of what you've done. Abbie is my best friend and I know her better than she even knows her self. I know that she hasn't told you this yet, but damnit, I'm going to because you need to hear it. She has been so in love with you from the very first time that she laid eyes on you. You make her feel like she has never felt about any other woman before and she had no idea of how she was supposed to deal with that. She doesn't hardly ever get nervous over anything, but you were that one exception that made her a complete blubbering mess. She tried endlessly to get you to notice her, but nothing ever seemed to work out because you were too busy fawning over your cheating detective. She tried so hard for you and you didn't even notice. I know that she may be immature sometimes, but she has an amazing heart, and that amazing heart is the same one that you crushed. Never once have I seen her give up something she loves so much because of someone that she loves so much. She probably left because she couldn't handle being here with you any longer because it was hurting so much. As much as it kills me to say this, I honestly have no idea whether she is going to come back or not."

This time, Serena actually lets her tears fall as she shamefully drops her head into her hands. "Oh god, this is all my fault. I didn't…I didn't think that she felt that deeply or anything. When we slept together, I thought it was just…I thought we just both needed to feel something, but god, I hurt her so badly Casey. I didn't mean for her to quit her job because of me, I really didn't. She doesn't deserve to be treated how I treated her. Oh god, I messed up. I just want her to know that I'm sorry. I never meant for things to turn out like this. Casey, I don't know…how do I fix this?"

"That's something you're going to have to figure out on your own, because I unfortunately don't have the answer."

* * *

Abbie feels numb. In fact, she has never felt number than she feels at this moment right now. She glares angrily at the stacked boxes sitting in the corner of her apartment; the boxes that contain all of the things from her former office back at her former job. Immediately, her vision begins to blur as she angrily rubs at her eyes, not wanting to give her self the satisfaction of crying, even if she is in the confines of her own apartment.

She downs the rest of the whiskey in her glass before she sets the glass down on the counter and opts for grabbing the rest of the bottle instead. Taking a deep swig straight from the bottle, she winces as the harsh burn of the liquid as it slides down her throat, but soon she begins to enjoy the pain.

The shrill ringing of her self phone interrupts her self pity and she immediately digs into her pocket, before she retrieves the device and launches it at a nearby wall, watching it shatter into pieces. Scowling, she takes another gulp from the whiskey bottle before she slowly slides down against the wall, resting her head against the drywall with a soft 'thud'.

A strangled sob escapes her lips before she breaks down completely, dropping her head into her hand just as her heart continues to shatter just like her cell phone. Acting on impulse, the distraught woman chugs the rest of the liquor before she chucks the bottle roughly, hearing it practically explode against the wall. She then draws her knees up to her chest, curling into her self like a small child as she continues to sob heavily, slightly thankful that there is no one but her self to witness what a mess she has become.

**Meanwhile…**

"Rachel…" Alex whispers hoarsely as she finds her self staring into the identical eyes of her sister. She actually has to take a step back as she continues to blink for several moments, wondering if she is just imagining such a thing.

"It's nice to see you as well, baby sister." The older blonde responds, dragging out the words 'baby sister' as her self satisfied smirk seems to widen. "You miss me?"

A tiny frown creases across Alex's face as she contemplates her response to the question. "In what sense of the word…" she responds darkly before she slightly tilts her head. "What do you want?"

Rachel gasps lightly as she exaggeratedly places her hand over her heart. "Why Alex, I'm shocked. You see your dear old sister after such a long time and then this is the kind of greeting that I get? I can't say that I'm surprised. You never really were one to know the meaning of the word 'manners'."

Alex scowls at the comment and her hand tightly clenches into a fist. "Did you come from wherever you came from, just to insult me? Because if you did then you're just wasting your time because I have nothing that I need to say to you."

"So rude, this one." Rachel states disapprovingly with a dismissive click of her tongue. "And here I was being the noble person to congratulate you on your very first win."

"I would say thank you, but I know that you have ulterior motives for being here. I'm surprised that you even still think that I even exist."

"Now Alex, what would father say if he knew you were speaking such things?"

Alex snorts mirthlessly as she shakes her head and stares in an opposite direction. "Hey would agree with me. You always were the poster child of the family, while I was just that little piece of nothing on the side. Tell me, do your kids know that they have an aunt?"

Rachel's smirk immediately fades and an irritated scowl immediately replaces it. "Do not bring my children into this. You are never to speak of them."

"I'll take that as a no." Alex retorts in response. "What do you want from me, Rachel? You aren't the type of person that would just wish to show up out of no where and speak to me of all people. What is your ulterior motive for finding me here? Because if it is just to insult me, I am going to get into my car, and leave. So I'm going to ask you one last time, what the hell do you want from me?"

Rachel rolls her eyes before her facial expression softens much to Alex's surprise. "There is going to be a dinner at my home this weekend. I would very much…it would be very appreciated if you attended."

"Appreciated? Is this a family function?!" Alex exclaims before she pauses and lowers her tone. "Pray tell, what makes you think that I am welcome at any kind of family functions? Were you not around when your father clearly told me that I was not welcome at anything family related?"

"He is your father as well Alexandra and you still need to respect him as such."

"That bastard has never acted like my father there for I refuse to address him as such. He threw me to the dogs as soon as mother passed away. You were old enough then to know damn well that never even cared about me. Why all of a sudden? The two of us haven't seen each other in nearly seven years and now all of a sudden you're here extending dinner invitations to me? You're here because you finally feel like I'm worthy enough to grace any of you with me presence? Weren't you happy enough already with your perfect little life? Your perfect little children with your perfect house and your perfect husband? Why don't you just fuck off and crawl back to that perfect little life you have that doesn't include the likes of me."

Rachel's gaze drops to the ground and she is silent for a moment before her mouth opens, her voice coming out as a small whisper. "My husband finally left me a year ago. He signed over his paternal rights and I haven't seen or heard from him since then. We weren't happy to begin with. Father pushed the two of us together because he felt that Brandon was what I needed and we were married shortly after that. I didn't want to marry him, but what else was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to defy the man who had literally given me everything? And he could just as easily take it all away? We got married and he gave me three beautiful children; the heirs my father had always wanted. But as the saying goes, things are never as they appear. I knew that Brandon had another family elsewhere, god I knew, but I chose to ignore it for Father's sake as I pretended to proclaim my happiness. When Brandon wouldn't come home, I knew where he was. I knew that he was taking care of the woman and child that he had on the sidelines, but like the fool that I am, I chose to ignore it. A year ago was when he finally left, proclaiming that he had more important priorities. Unfortunately, he felt the brunt of Father's wrath that left him nearly broke and penniless to support his other family, but such a thing is all out of my hands now. Look, you don't have to accept my invitation, but I am thus extending it to you no less. Just try to think it over."

Alex bites down on her bottom lip before she sighs heavily. Honestly, two days ago if someone had approached her and told her that she would be approached by her older sister and invited to a family dinner, she would have referred them to see a psychiatrist. But nevertheless, here she is standing in the parking lot facing said older sister, at an internal battle with her self on what to say.

"Rachel, I don't know." Alex whispers as she hangs her head. "You know that the family wouldn't approve of…me. Plus, I—I have a daughter I need to take care of…"

"You have a child?" Rachel repeats with widened eyes as her mouth falls slightly ajar.

"I do…her name is Emma and she's five years old." Alex replies quietly before she frowns slightly. "He never told you did he? Who am I kidding, of course he never told you. Probably because he didn't want to accept it himself. He hung up on me when I first called him and told him I had gotten pregnant. I had assumed he had told you."

Rachel shakes her head before she takes a deep breath. "He never did. Look, as I said before, you don't have to decide on this now. Just think it over? Bring your daughter and your…um…partner if you so wish to."

Alex hesitates for a moment before she nods her head with visible reluctance. "I'll think about it." she mutters quietly. Of course the two sisters are not going to share the subtle pleasantries of a hug so they both silently agree on silent head nods before Rachel spins on her heel and walks away, leaving her little sister slumping against her car with mixed feelings and emotions over what had just happened. She's going to have to have a longs serious talk with Casey when she gets home.

**Lot of raw emotion in this chapter, huh? Lol, leave your thoughts :3**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: guys I swear one of the most irritating and difficult things is typing out a chapter on a smart phone but here it is! Sorry for errors!**

"Will you talk to me about what's going on with you?" Casey asks curiosity as she notices just how quiet her lover has been since she has gotten home.

It's almost as if Alex doesn't hear the question for she continues to stare blankly at the television screen, gnawing down nervously on her bottom lip. It's almost as if she has paled more than usual and if Casey didn't know any better, she would think she was dead.

Sighing heavily, Casey switches off the television before she moves across the sofa and pulls the blonde into her lap. She gently begins to lightly stroke her fingers across the skin of Alex's stomach before leaning in to place a soft kiss on her cheek. "Hm? What's going on, Baby? Please talk to me." She whispers pleadingly, satisfied that she is getting somewhere when she is met with a pair of lost looking blue eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I-I um...I..." Alex manages to begin nervously before she has to swallow the thick emotional lump that has suddenly formed in the base of her throat. "After court today, I was walking to my car and I was approached by my sister, Rachel."

At the news, Casey's eyes widen briefly before she raises her eyebrows in shock. "Your sister? Wow, Alex sweetheart, I...I don't know what to say." She begins wordlessly as she nervously rubs at the back of her neck. "What did she want?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out but I'm still not entirely sure. She told me that she was having a party at her house and that she actually wanted me to attend." Alex responds, almost robotically before a frown begins to play at her features. "Why would she want me to attend? We haven't see it even spoken to each other in several years but then she shows up out of nowhere telling me she wants me to come to a party she's having! Suddenly I exist again!"

"Ali, honey, you never know. What if the invitation was sincere?"

"Pfft, yeah right. Rachel? Sincere? That will be the day. She told me that I could bring you and Emma. I just...I just don't understand what it is that she wants from me. I want to know what I'm walking in to, you know? I mean, attending a party that is going to be full of people I either don't know or don't even give a damn to acknowledge my existence, does not particularly spark an idea of fun in my mind."

Casey nods her head in comprehension before she places a soft, warm kiss to the blondes neck to keep her calm and from going in to hysterics. "I understand why you're hesitant, Love, but this is your family we are talking about."

Alex snorts humorlessly through her nose before she shakes her head. "Yeah, that is exactly my point." She mutters indignantly with an eye roll.

"Alex please. It's your family. Maybe this is finally your chance to chance to rekindle something with your immediate family and spark something new with the others? Don't you want to get to know your nieces and nephew?"

"Do you really want for me to answer that question sincerely?"

"I just think that it would be a great opportunity for you to show then you aren't who they think you are. You aren't lining by their personal standard anymore. Don't you want to shove it in your fathers face that you were able to make it all on your own with out any of his help or support? That you've become this strong, confident, amazing woman that you are and it's all because you've worked hard enough to become that woman?"

Alex narrows her eyes for a moment before she vigorously shakes her head. "I don't even want to look at my father." She says darkly before sighing heavily. "And what about Emma? I would feel like that I would be exposing her to so much all at one time. Plus, I had her out of wedlock. Do you have any idea of what my family would think of her when they realize that?"

"You were raped sweetheart..."

"Do you think that would matter to any of them!? There would be two groups split between how they would look at and feel about Emma, Casey. There would be the part of my family that would want to cast her out because I had her on my own and I am not married, and then there is the part of my family that would want to take her away from me to breed her into a 'Proper Cabot' while she is still young. I-I can't let anyone take her away from me Casey! I can't so it! I won't do it! That little girl is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I cannot lose her. I just can't."

Casey cradles Alex towards her own body as she gently combs her differs through silky blonde tresses. "As long as I am here Alex, no one is ever going to take her away from you, do you understand? I will never, ever, let anyone hurt her or you by separating the two of you." She says firmly before her voice softens. "If you do not want to attend this part your sister is having, then I am not going to force you. I'm not going to push you into doing something that you don't want to do because that is not the person that I am. If you don't want to go, then we won't go. But if you so think about it and you change your mind, I promise that I will be right there by your side the entire time because I live to support you."

Alex wipes away her tears brier she nods her head and wraps her arms around the redheads neck. "I'll think about it, but right now I just don't know..." She whimpers as she buries her face into Casey's neck. "Thank you for being there to support me always. I love you so much."

"I love you too." Casey whispers as she lightly traces Alex's upper lip with her tongue before she gently brings their lips together in a chaste kiss. She pulls away from the kiss and rests their foreheads together as she feels a hand gently stroking her cheek. "I never did properly congratulate you on your first win today. We'll have to go out and celebrate this weekend."

"Thanks." Alex replies with a tiny bashful blush spreading across her cheeks. "I can't believe I actually won. Apparently I did good, because the judge told me she was impressed and I heard that this judge in particularly is extremely difficult to impress."

"You had Petrovsky didn't you!" Casey exclaims with widened eyes. "Damn, now I'm impressed that you were able to impress Petrovsky. I swear that woman eats tacks and chains for breakfast. We DEFINITELY have to go out and celebrate now!"

Alex giggles at Casey enthusiasm as she takes to one of her favorite habits by braiding a strand or her favorite crimson locks. "Did anything interesting happen at the office today? After the jury came back with the verdict I had so many other errands to run, I never made it back in time."

Casey thinks for a moment before she shrugs and shakes her head. "Not anything that I can think of." She says dismissively before her face goes grave and her eyes drop. "Wait, actually something did happen today." She murmurs sadly before she sighs heavily once more. "Abbie quit today."

"When you say quit, you don't mean like...quit, quit right?" Alex asks skeptically as she stills her fingers in Casey's hair.

"Yeah I mean quit, quit." Casey repeats sadly. "She packed up the last remains of her office and left."

Alex's eyes widen and her mouth hangs open before she shakes her head. "You are shitting me. Why did she quit!?"

Casey hesitates for a moment before she roughly drags a hand through her hair. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this but I really don't think it even matters anymore," she states before continuing on. "Things hot so heavy between her and Serena that she felt like she couldn't take it any longer. You see, Abbie is desperately in love with Serena and I guess the unrequited love just got to be too much for her to handle. Especially after they've slept together twice."

"Twice!?" Alex exclaims, probably a little louder than necessary. "What do you mean they slept together twice!? I knew once but...twice!?"

"Yeah I didn't know either until Serena told me earlier today. I just...I can't even begin to imagine how much Abbie must be hurting right now. I've tried calling her phone but it keeps shooting me straight to voicemail. I'm not sure if she's ignoring my calls or what, but I'm really worried about her."

"She's heartbroken, Baby. Maybe she needs her space."

"Yeah but I just hope she doesn't do anything to hurt her self or anything..."

* * *

Serena is awoken late into the night by an intense banging in her front door. The banging actually startles her out of bed and quiet as kept, she is a tad but reluctant in getting up to see who it is if they're knocking like that. Swallowing thickly, she then climbs out of bed and wraps a silk robe around her body before she makes her way, rather reluctantly, down the stairs.

The banging gets louder and louder as she approaches the door where she reluctantly begins to undo the locks. Opening the door, she frowns as she finds her self nearly mowed down by a highly intoxicated yet very familiar brunette.

"Abbie what, oh god," Serena pauses, grimacing as the heavy smell of various alcohol beverages wafts across her nose. "What are you doing here? It's late?"

Abbie stares at the blonde with red rimmed, bloodshot eyes as she stumbles and points a shaky finger towards her self. "What is wrong with me?" She slurs, nearly toppling over. "Tell me Serena! Tell me what's wrong with me!"

"Well for starters, you're stupid drunk..." Serena mumbles to her self before she shakes her head. "Abbie I don't understand what you're asking me."

"I'm asking what's wrong with me! I want to know what it is about me that you can't just...you can't even look at me!" Abbie shouts before pointing once again. "Like now! You aren't even looking! You can't look at me! You never could have! I've always been...nothing to you! I tried so hard, I swear I tried! I tried to get you to notice me but you wouldn't even spare me a second glance!"

"Abbie calm down, you're drunk and you need to go home...did you drive here?"

"What's it matter if I did!? I could have crashed and died and burned to death but you wouldn't have even cared! You don't even care how you broke my heart! The phone! You wouldn't even answer the phone! I called and called and called and called but you never even answered the damn phone! I just wanted to talk to you! Because I thought you felt something for me too! I was going to ask you to dinner and take you in a real date if you let me, but you didn't even care!"

Serena sighs heavily as she rakes her hands through her hair. "I did care..." She mumbles, trying to convince her self more than anything.

Abbie laughs loudly and bitterly at the statement. "No you didn't! You never did! Why did you do it!? Why did you make me tell you!"

"What are you talking about!"

"You begged me! You made me tell you that I loved you! You begged to tell you! You BEGGED. Why did you do that?!"

"I-I don't know..."

"LIAR! Tell me why you did it! Tell me!"

"I needed to hear it." The blonde mumbles shamefully. "I needed to..."

"You were picturing her while we were in bed together!" Abbie shouts as tears begin to poor violently down her cheeks. "All of what happened, it was never me you were seeing! You've never seen me! It's like I don't exist! You're too stuck on HER! Well let me tell you something! She has never loved you like I love you! While you were chasing after her I was trying to get you to even look my direction! Do you know why that is? I know why! Because you thought she was better than me! You stuck up your nose and walked away right to her because you thought she was better! And you're still hanging on to her! I was standing there trying to love you and you just kept going to her! Please just give me a chance! Please just a chance to show you! Please, I-I'll do anything! I swear! I'll get one my knees! I'll sell all my stuff! I'll give everything away, I'll do anything for you! I'll give up everything my car my house I've already given up my job! Please Serena I just want a chance!"

Serena blinks rapidly at the drunk woman literally groveling at her feet. In a state of panic she begins backing away towards the door. "Abbie, I-I can't do this right now, I can't. You're drunk and you should...call a cab and just go home." She stammers nervously as she opens the door and ushers the brunette outside.

"I'll stay out here all night then! I won't leave! You'll see! I'll still be here!"

"Abbie, go home...please."

"Serena don't do this! Please I just...I love you...so much...please."

Serena opens her mouth but finds words unable to come out. Once again panicking, she shakes her head before she averts her eyes and gently shuts the door. She takes a shuddering deep breath before she forces her legs to carry her back to her bedroom where she is going to attempt to fall asleep again despite the tugging in her heart.

Meanwhile, Abbie slumps against the door before sliding down to the floor where she then leans her head against the door. Biting down hard on her bottom lip, her body begins to shake violently as she tries to stifle her sobs. She meant what she said earlier, she'll wait right outside, and all night if she has to.

**Hm leave your thoughts?**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hope you all enjoy this chapter, glad I could finally update this :3**

"You're a smart woman Serena, so I think you should be able to figure out why I called you in here." Liz says coolly as she leans back in her chair and watches the stoic blonde enter her office. "But first, is there something else on your mind?"

Serena purses her lips tightly as she tensely takes a seat down in one of the chairs across from the district attorney. "I don't know what you're talking about." She says tersely, probably a little harsher than necessary considering that she is talking to the woman that can make and break her career right now.

Liz raises her eyebrows at the ADA's tone but she says nothing of it as her composure softens. "Serena, talk to me. I know that I'm your boss and in some occasions with bosses this might come off as a little strange but you do know that you can come to me as a friend too, yes?"

"With all due respect Liz, I don't find it appropriate or welcome that you are prodding into my personal life."

"While that may seem true, I think it is completely appropriate seeing as your attitude is completely out of character for you and could possibly start affecting your work ethics. I want what's best for my office, which in turn means that I also want what's best for the people who work in it. I'm not going to force you to talk to me about what is going on with you, but I can assure you that I would do anything that I can to help, starting with lending an unbiased, listening ear."

Serena purses her lips once again and hangs her head as she notices that she is wringing her hands out of nervous happen. She bites down gently on her bottom lip before she sighs heavily and looks back up at a waiting Liz. "The reason that Abbie left here was because of me." she says quietly, not sure how else she was going to start the conversation.

Liz frowns slightly at what she's been told first off and she isn't going to lie and say she's not intrigued over what exactly this is all about. "How so?" she asks curiously, not determined to get to the bottom of what ever has been going on.

"We had…a personal falling out which ended in her not wanting to be around me anymore so she quit her job because of it. I'm not going to try to put this off and say that it's not my fault because, in truth, everything is my fault. I—I hurt her badly and because of that, she left."

"Does this at all have anything to do with what happened between you and Detective Benson?"

Serena's head shoots up at the mention of her ex and a frown immediately plays at her features. "What? How do you know about that?"

A small smile tugs at Liz's lips before she shrugs her shoulders as if to appear nonchalant. "People talk Serena. They talk more than you know. It was only a matter of time before I heard about what happened."

"I suppose that you're right. I know that this whole thing with Abbie happened because of that thing with Liv. I—I was so upset about what happened in my own relationship, that I ended up using Abbie with out intending to or even realizing it. There really is no excuse for how I've treated her…"

"Have you spoken to her at all?"

"I—I can't bring my self to speak to her. A few nights ago, she showed up drunk at my apartment late at night or early in the morning; I can't exactly remember because it took me completely by surprise. Anyway, she showed up drunk at my apartment, and she started yelling at me, and she was actually starting to scare me. I didn't know what else to do, so I just…I put her out. She stayed sitting outside my apartment for the rest of the night and the next day, but when I looked out there the following evening, she wasn't there anymore. I—I didn't want to call the police so I just…I let her sit there. But now I wish I hadn't. I've picked up my phone numerous times to call her but I just can't do it."

"And why is that?"

"Guilt? Fear? I've asked my self that question several times Liz and the sad thing is, I don't really know why I can't, I just know that I can't. Not right now."

Liz leans back in her chair once again as she thoughtfully taps her fingers against her lips. "I see. Well, I believe that the best thing for you to do is call her and try to talk things over, but you can only do that when you feel like you're ready. Don't try to force yourself into a situation that will make you uncomfortable. But I do wish you the best."

"Thanks Liz. As the saying goes, I've made my bed, and now I have to lay in it, right?" Serena jokes flatly before she chuckles quietly and shakes her head. "So as you stated before, apparently I'm not as smart as you think I am, because I literally have no idea what it is that you want from me."

"Ah, yes, what I originally called you in here for." Liz begins before her clears her throat and leans forward where she folds her hands on her desk, her voice having turned serious. "Obviously, there are going to be some changes around here what with this rather abrupt change of events. Now, I don't have any final decisions made at the moment and I don't expect you to make any decisions right away but-"

"I don't want it." Serena cuts in, her voice firm as if her mind is already made up.

Liz frowns at the statement and she opens and closes her mouth several times before she tilts her head. "Serena, I wasn't even finished yet."

"If you're going to offer me Abbie's job, then I'm going to flat out say that I don't want it. It's not that I don't think that I could do it, considering there is only two of us in the unit and it is not that different from what I already do to begin with, but it wouldn't be fair. It's my fault that she felt the need to quit her job and I wouldn't feel right in conscience to take over what is rightfully hers, so I repeat my statement from before; I don't want it." the blonde attorney concludes flatly, her tone letting her boss know that she definitely means business.

"Well, I suppose that I see how that would make some sort of sense, but that isn't exactly what I was going to ask." Liz pauses before she clears her throat, signaling that she doesn't wish to be interrupted again. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, there are going to be a lot of changes here in the office. Word has not gotten around yet, because you should be informed that Cutter has put in his letter of resignation."

Serena's eyes widen and her mouth falls ajar for a long moment before she is able to respond. "He quit?"

"More like I fired him, but yes, he is no longer working here; which means that there is an opening for the bureau chief position. I'm just going to be completely honest and say that I was looking at Abigail as a high potential candidate to fill such a position, and her resignation has disappointed me deeply. But as disappointed as I am that she is gone, I still do have an office to run, which means that I have a position to fill. As I said, I don't expect you to make any final decisions now, but I was wondering if you would be at all interested in the position?"

Serena is rendered completely speechless by the offer that has just been presented before her and for the longest of times she really doesn't have any thing to say. "Gosh, Liz, I—I don't know. That's a pretty intense position to fill."

"Like I said, I was thinking of having Abigail, do this job, but what with her quitting, I had to go to my next best attorney. I know that it is a lot to ask and on such short notice, but please give it some thought?"

"Yes, of course. I-I'll get back to you on that."

Liz smiles a rare wide smile that actually shows off her teeth. "Excellent. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you." she says as she watches the blonde get up and prepare to leave her office. "Oh, and Serena? Please take care of yourself. You'll know what to do when the time comes."

"Thanks Liz." Serena says with a small smile before she exits her boss's office. Once outside, she takes a deep breath and shakes her head, wondering just what the hell she is going to do.

**Meanwhile…**

Casey taps her foot impatiently against the marble floor of the courthouse as she watches looks through the people hurrying past her. As she continues to look through the crowd, she spots just the woman she's looking for and she immediately makes her way through the extensive amount of people. She finally reaches the blonde in question and with out word, she grasps the woman's arm tightly and drags her into an empty conference room, locking the door behind them to give them the utmost amount of privacy.

"Excuse me, but who the hell are you?!" the blonde exclaims breathlessly as she fixes her suit and glares hard at the stranger.

"You and I need to talk." Casey says flatly as she leans against the door, cutting the woman off before she can get a word in. "It's about Alex."

Rachel abruptly closes her mouth and continues to eye Casey with genuine curiosity though her glare doesn't fade. "How do you know my sister, and then at the same time, why should I be talking to you anyhow?"

Casey matches Rachel glare for glare and she clenches her teeth tightly as she takes a menacing step forward. "Because, if you do anything to hurt her, anything at all, you need to know who you are going to be having problems with." She begins venomously. "I don't know what game you think you're trying to play with her, but let me be the first to tell you that it isn't going to work."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh I think you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. You see, she told me about your little meeting that you had with her after she won her case. She told me how you invited her to this 'party' of yours and told her that you really want her to be there. But what I want to know is why, why do you want her to be there Rachel? What purpose would she serve you other than you have the chance to openly humiliate her in adulthood in front of your family? What is wrong with you? Haven't you people done enough to ruin her? All of her life she has been practically by her self with none of you supporting her, and now that she is finally making something of her self on her own, you show up and decide to drag her back into that hell house that all of you call a family? Please explain to me how that makes any sense."

Rachel folds her arms and shakes her head as she eloquently sits her self on the conference table. "It's Casey, yes? See, Casey, you don't understand. Alex is my little sister. I would like for us to rekindle our relationship."

Casey snorts humorlessly before she shakes her head in disgust. "You mean the relationship that you never had because you were far too busy being your father's puppet? Is that what I'm hearing? Listen, I don't know what your deal is, but it will be over my dead body if you have any intentions of hurting her again."

"Now, we're getting too far into extremes aren't we Casey? I just want Alex to come back into the family again."

"Did you stop to think about what she would want? What if she doesn't want anything to do with any of you?"

Rachel smirks as she slides off of the table and picks up her briefcase. "Well, then we'll just wait and let her make that decision won't we?" she whispers hotly into the redhead's ear before she slips out of the conference room.

Casey's face burns with anger and she has to take a calming deep breath to keep from going after the woman. Whatever Alex's decision is, she'll support it, but she just hopes that she got her point across to Rachel. _Clearly. _

**I was reading the reviews on Story of Us and I couldn't help but crack up. If Alex Cabot was down on her knees proposing to any of you I believe that you guys would all say yes before she finished, lol. **

**Anyhow, leave your thoughts on this one! **


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Don't know how I feel about this chapter, but here it is anyway. Enjoy :) **

"Abbie, please, open the door, I know that you're in there!" Serena calls out as she continues to pound on the closed door. She isn't sure how long she has been standing outside the apartment knocking, but if she has her numbers right, she's sure that she's been standing there for the better part of a half hours.

Sighing heavily, she pauses briefly before she continues pounding on the door once again. "Abbie? Will you please come open the door? I really have to talk to you. It's important." She calls out once again, only to receive no kind of response, just like before.

Pausing once again, Serena drags a hand through her hair before she decides that her only other option is to try the door. She places her hand on the knob and turns it, thoroughly surprised to find it give way easily, granting her entrance. As she walks inside, she shakes her head and locks the door behind her, wondering what Abbie was thinking when she felt it was safe to leave the door unlocked. Then again, whoever would be brave enough to walk in on Abbie Carmichael would be branded the town fool.

"Abbie?" Serena calls out quietly as she makes her way through the foyer. She notices that the apartment is dark and not just any kind of dark either. The kind of dark that is so dark you can almost hear it and feel it. In fact, it's the kind of darkness that's in a horror movie right before she killer jumps out from the kitchen and slashes you to death. The mere thought gives the blonde shivers and not the good kind.

After looking around the living room and the kitchen, Serena sits her purse down and then risks the quiet trek up the stairs. She curiously pokes her head into the dark bedroom and to be honest, she has no idea of what compels her to go in, but she goes in anyway, not the least bit surprised when she finds the woman she's looking for tucked into the farthest corner with her knees drawn up to her chest. The sight actually breaks Serena's heart and it nearly crushes her to know that this is entirely her fault.

"Abbie, honey, what are you doing?" the blonde whispers quietly as she carefully approaches. "How long have you been sitting here?"

Abbie says nothing in response as her exhausted, red rimmed eyes continue to stare blankly into the darkness of her bedroom. Her head continues to rest against the wall and the only incentive that she is actually alive is the fact that her feint breathing can be heard because of the quiet in the room.

Serena sighs and gently wraps an arm around Abbie's waist before she aids the taller woman in standing up. She is a little bit surprise that she doesn't receive in resistance, but then again, not really because it doesn't even seem like Abbie is of this world right now.

She carefully walks them into the bathroom where she flips on the light, that being the only light that is in the apartment at the moment. She sits Abbie down on the toilet seat and it isn't until then in the light, that she becomes fully aware of the brunette's appearance. Her eyes appear darker than normal despite being bloodshot, and they seem to be lost and in pain all at the same time.

"Hey, um, how about I run you a bath and you can soak in the tub and maybe relax a little? Then while you're taking a bath, I'll make you some lunch? Does that sound okay?" Serena asks gently, not the least bit of surprised when she doesn't receive a response once again. Instead, she sighs quietly to her self and sets about running said bath, realizing it would be completely pointless to wait for a response.

After filling up the tub, Serena turns back, only to find that Abbie hasn't moved. She doesn't know what she's supposed to say at this point so she stands awkwardly silent for a minute before she clears her throat. "Um, I'll just…give you some privacy. It's your home, so you…should know where everything is." she trails off quietly before she ducks out of the bathroom.

Down in the kitchen, Serena murmurs to her self quietly as she sets about cleaning the dishes all the while trying to figure out what it is she's going to make for lunch. At least then, she will have bought her self some thinking time. She can't help but feel extremely guilty over Abbie's condition. Maybe if she had just picked up the phone in the first place, this wouldn't have been a problem. Or maybe if they hadn't went to bed together to begin with, this wouldn't be a problem.

"I've fucked up…" she mutters to her self as she finishes the dishes and sets about making a sandwich. How could she have acted so…so selfish for lack of a better term? That's not who she is, so why is she suddenly acting like it now?

After feeling a little proud of her completed sandwich, she empties a bag of potato chips on the plate before she sighs once again and exits the kitchen. She's a little surprised to see Abbie curled up on the couch after having taken her bath. Biting the inside of her cheek out of nervous habit, Serena places the plate on the coffee table in front of the quiet woman before she carefully takes a seat on the sofa.

"I was…kind of hoping that we could maybe talk…" the typically composed attorney stammers after a long moment of silence.

Abbie's face contorts into a frown before she snorts and shakes her head dismissively. "Did you come here so you could hurt me again?" she asks flatly, her voice lacking it's usual uplifting humor.

Serena's mouth falls open at the rhetorical question but she abruptly closes it when she realizes that she doesn't really have a defense. "I wasn't trying to hurt you." she finally manages to counter.

"You said that the first time too, and then you hurt me again, and then again." Abbie bites out quickly before she laughs angrily. "It's my own damn fault that I kept going back to you like some love sick puppy. The joke's on me isn't it? Seeing as I was stupid enough to ever think that you would feel anything for me? Why are you here."

"I-I told you that I wanted for us to talk, but I wanted to apologize…again."

"Oh, for what thing are you apologizing for now? Are you apologizing for using me to satisfy your own personal needs, or are you apologizing for letting me sit outside your apartment for a day and a half without even bothering to say anything? Please let me know which you're apologizing for, it would really be helpful."

Serena squeezes her eyes shut tightly and tries to will away her oncoming headache. "I'm apologizing for all of it. I shouldn't have treated you the way that I did. You didn't deserve it…but Abbie, I was…I was scared! I didn't know what else to do."

Abbie snorts humorlessly before she rolls her eyes. "That can't be your answer for everything." She mutters bitterly before she gets up and moves across the room. "If that's all that you came here to say, then you can get out. I don't want to have anything to do with your half assed apology that isn't going to mean anything to you in about ten minutes."

"I came to talk to you about going back to work." Serena says quietly, hoping that she worded that correctly. "Cutter was fired and Liz really wanted you for his position but you left. She-she offered me the job, but I don't know if I can handle being in charge of so much. I-I just…you deserve it far more than I do, and I don't think that I could accept it, knowing that."

"You want me to go back because you want to clear yourself of a guilty conscience." Abbie says bluntly before she shakes her head. "You know Serena, you really are selfish. You have this innocent good girl façade but I can see past that. You really are no better than your cheating bitch of an ex girlfriend. With how you've been showing yourself lately, it makes me wonder if she was right to toss you aside like she did. You probably deserved it."

Tears spring to Serena's eyes at the rather harsh comment before she shakes her head vigorously. "That's not true…I was good to her. I-I did everything I could...she's the one that left."

"See, that's your problem. You always like to blame everyone else, but you never take responsibility for anything that you do. You aren't perfect Serena."

"I never claimed to be!"

"Well you sure as hell act like it seeing as you're too good to pick up a damn phone when someone's trying to fucking call you!"

Serena grits her teeth together tightly as her hands clench together in tight fists. She doesn't enjoy being challenged and right now, she feels like she's been backed into a corner. "You aren't being fair Abbie. You can't stand there and attack my morals just because I'm not in love with you like you want me to be! Maybe a long time a go if you had just told me how you felt instead of acting like a scared little kid, you might have actually had a chance."

Abbie's mouth snaps shut and she folds her arms as she shakes her head and looks away. "It's not that easy for me…I can't just do that."

"Well, you can't just sit around and wait for things to come to you either. It doesn't work like that." Serena answers just as quietly. "Clearly this is getting no where with you. So I'm going home."

"So now look who is the one that's running away."

"I'm not running away."

Abbie crosses the room quickly and with panther like speed, she harshly pins Serena against the wall. "Don't struggle with me. It'll only make things harder on yourself." She says flatly, keeping the blonde pinned against the wall, no matter how much she tries to wiggle away.

Serena is thoroughly surprised by the brunette's strength and she knows that her attempts are proving to be pathetically futile. "Abigail, let me go. Or I swear that I'll scream."

"Do it." Abbie challenges with a bitter smirk tugging at her lips. "Do it and no one will hear you."

"What do you want from me…"

"The truth. I'm going to kiss you now, and if you really do not feel anything for me, then you will push me away and slap me. Then I will leave you alone and you will never hear from me ever again."

Blinking away tears, Serena shakes her head as she still attempts to get free. "Please. Abbie, please don't…" she whimpers quietly, unable to force away her tears.

Abbie pins the blonde's hands to the wall before she leans in and gently presses their lips together. She releases Serena's hands, and she smirks into the kiss when she feels said hands fall to her shoulder as she waits for the slap that apparently never comes.

**Meanwhile…**

"Damn, you're gorgeous." Casey pants huskily as she and Alex continue to move against one another under the confines of the sheets. Their breathing is ragged and their bodies are covered in perspiration as they continue to engage heavily in one of their most favored extracurricular activities.

"Oh god, Baby, yes!" Alex calls out as their hot, wet, seeping centers continue to meet thrust for grind. Who knew that the mere skin on skin contact would be enough to make her want to come right then and there? She matches Casey's rhythm, and her mouth falls ajar in a silent moan as their arousals begin to mix with one another once again. "Casey, please!"

"Are you gonna cum for me Baby? Are you?"

"Please, oh, yes, please! I'm gonna-"

"Mommy?"

Alex's words freeze in her throat as she recognizes the tiny confused voice standing in the doorway. Her eyes fling open in horror and she finds her self staring into wide green eyes that match her fearful blue ones. Swallowing thickly, she turns her head to find her confused little girl standing with her hand still on the door handle. "Y-yeah Baby?"

"Mommy, what're you doing?" Emma asks curiously as her eyes still continue to blink rapidly in confusion.

"Um, nothing?" Alex responds, not really sure of what else she's supposed to say. "I thought you were taking a nap, sweetheart, what are doing in here?"

Emma shrugs nonchalantly as she thinks for a moment. "I waked up from my nap so I was playing with my dollies. Then I heard some weird noises so I camed in here. Are you and Casey playing a game Mommy?"

Alex blinks for a moment before she becomes fully aware of the fact that Casey is still on top of her. She gives the redhead a nudge with her knee which draws her out of her frozen stupor and causes her to scramble to the other side of the bed. Thank heavens they were fully covered with the sheet when Emma walked in, although, neither of them know how much she probably saw.

"Mommy?" Emma repeats curiously realizing that she has lost her mother's attention. "Were you and Casey playing a game?"

"Game…Uh, yeah, we were playing a game." Alex confirms with a shaky jerk of her head that looks much like a nod. "But it's a grown up game and you aren't allowed to play it unless you're a grown up."

Emma's face remains contorted into confusion once more before she tilts her head to the side. "It's a grownup game? What's it called?"

Okay, now she's stumped. Alex opens her mouth in hopes that some sort of answer will fly out and save the day, but unfortunately it's wishful thinking on her part. She snaps her mouth shut and elbows Casey in the ribs, looking for some kind of support here.

"It's called, uh, it's called frog-leap." Casey says dumbly, seeing as it's the first thing that came to mind. "It's kinda like leapfrog, but backwards. It's the grownup version of leapfrog and it's backwards. That's why, uh, that's why we play it like this. You see. Yeah. Frog-leap."

"Frog-leap?" Emma repeats as she places her hands on her hips and fixes Casey with a look that resembles that of her mother. "I don't believe you. I've never heard frog-leap…"

"Well, duh, 'cause you're just a little kid and it's only for grownups!" Casey repeats with a childlike twang in her voice. "Now, you should go back to your room and finish playing with your dollies so Mommy and I can finish our game."

Emma continues to eye them with narrowed eyes for a moment before she shrugs and makes her way out of the bedroom back to her room where she was playing with her dolls; all the while still pondering the mystery of frog-leap.

Alex waits until she is sure her daughter is out of earshot before she sighs heavily and slumps down into the mattress. "There is literally no way that I am coming after that." she grumbles before she groans and presses her palms deep into her eye sockets.

Casey can't hide the amused chuckle that escapes past her lips upon seeing the blush that's slowly starting to creep down Alex's neck. "It's alright. It was actually kind of cute." She says as she pulls Alex closer to her. "You know, after I got over my initial shock of your daughter walking in on us having sex."

"You mean playing frog-leap?" Alex questions with a quirk of her eyebrow before she shakes her head. "You couldn't have come up with anything better than frog-leap?"

"Hey, in my defense, you put me on the spot and I didn't know what else to do! I just said the first thing that my mind came up with. You see, she believed it and it got her to go away. That's what matters right?"

"I suppose so…"

Casey smiles and presses a lingering kiss to the blonde's cheek before she allows for Alex to rest her head on her shoulder. "So I kind of threatened your sister."

Alex can't help the amused giggle that slips past her lips. "Good, I'm glad. What'd you say to her?"

"I tried to get her to tell me why she wanted for you to go to her party. Then I told her she better not have any intentions of hurting you or else she was going to have to deal with me, and that would be the last thing that she would want."

"Well aren't you my knight in shining armor." Alex grins before she lifts her head to give her lover a loving peck on the lips.

"Well, you know I try." Casey grins as she returns the kiss. "Alex, I know that this is your decision, but I really don't want you going to that party. I mean, there's no telling of who would be there, and I really don't want to see you get hurt."

Alex thinks for a moment before she grins and nods her head. "Then I won't go if you don't want me to."

Casey blinks in confusion for a moment before she comes up with a response. "You mean…that's it? No argument?"

"Nope. No argument."

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Alex Cabot?"

"Mmm, I think she left after she got exhausted from screaming your name after the first hour."

**Meanwhile…Again **

"This doesn't make any sense how a completely healthy woman who doesn't have any kind of medical issues can suddenly die in her sleep like this." Kim grumbles to herself as she sits in her office continuing to click through the document on her computer. "And for them to say that she had heart problems is completely ridiculous. If someone were to have as severe heart issues like it was so stated here, there would have been a medical history of her being placed in the hospital, but instead, there's nothing. No prescription, no hospital stays, no anything pertaining to heart issues. Just nothing."

Kim continues to mumble to her self as she leans back in her chair and continues to click through the document on her laptop. She is just about to click out of the folder to look for something else when she notices something doesn't seem right. The file she's reading through looks less than official and there is no medical examiner signature under the cause of death page.

Frowning some more, she spins in her chair and begins looking through the box that she had carried into her office. Her fingers fly over the files in the box before she picks up the folder that is supposed to match the file document she has on her computer.

As she opens the hard copy of the folder, Kim notices that it seems to be a lot thicker than the file seems to be on her computer. She finds the hard copy of the identical file, but she also finds other sheets of paper that are identical in lay out but the information doesn't seem to match up. After reading over the files a few times, her eyes widen as she begins to comprehend what seems to be a damn good cover up.

"Oh my god…"

**Uh oh…right? No? Yes? Maybe? Lol, leave your thoughts? **


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I liked this chapter. It's nice :3 I hope you guys like it too **

"Casey, maybe this was a bad idea…I mean…don't you think it's a bit too soon for this? And-and what if they don't like me?" Alex rambles on as she pulls on her girlfriend's hand, stopping them from walking any further up the pathway.

Casey smiles as she leans in and gently presses her lips to Alex's cheek. "Honey, they'll love you, I promise. If I had any doubts over how they would feel about you, I wouldn't have brought you here, but I'm positive that they'll love you."

Alex is silent for a moment before she shakily nods her head and looks down at her daughter who is looking back up with her expectantly. "Are you ready, baby girl?"

"Are these nice people Mommy?" Emma asks curiously yet quietly as she gives her mother's hand a tug.

"They've very nice, and they'll love you too kiddo." Casey explains with enthusiasm as she gently pats the tiny blonde's head. "C'mon, pretty soon my mom will start ringing my phone about where I am."

Taking a deep breath, Alex nods her had and allows Casey to continue to lead them up to the rather large house. To be honest, it actually reminds her of the home that she grew up in when she was younger, but she immediately shakes her head, trying to will away any and all memories of her childhood.

Casey rings the doorbell and flashes the two blonde's a reassuring smile that everything will be okay. They wait for a few moments before the front door swings open revealing a red haired woman clad in a kitchen apron and her shirt rolled up at the sleeves. A wide smile spreads across her face and she immediately envelopes her daughter into a hug.

"Oh Casey dear!" Carolyn Novak exclaims as she practically squeezes the life out of her youngest child. "I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten lost or whether or not you were going to actually get here!"

"Hi Mom." Casey smiles as she returns the hug, letting out a quiet breath of relief when she is relief from her mother's vice grip. "You know that I would have called if I had gotten lost or anything."

"I know dear, but you never know." Carolyn responds before her eyes land on the other two people that have entered her home. "Oh, and who do we have here?"

Casey chuckles to her self as she steps back and gently pulls Alex forward. "This is my girlfriend Alex. Alex, this is my mother, Carolyn."

Alex smiles nervously as she holds out a rather shaky hand in greeting. "It's very nice to meet you. Casey has told me so much about you." she says nervously, completely taken by surprised when she too finds her self pulled into a bone crushing hug.

"We hug around here, dear. Everyone's family." Carolyn explains laughing as she pulls away from the hug. It isn't until then that she notices the little girl who seems to be hiding behind Casey's leg, peeking out every now and again. "And who is this little cutie here?"

"This is my daughter Emma." Alex replies with a smile as she offers her hand to her shy little girl. "It's okay sweetie. You don't have to hide."

Emma glances up at Casey who gives her a small nod and a gentle nudge before she hesitantly makes her way over to the smiling stranger. "Hi…" she says quietly as she brings her hand to her mouth, chewing her fingers out of nervous habit.

"Hi sweetie. How old are you?"

"I'm five years old…"

Carolyn looks up at the two women with a smile. "That's great. Lucy is only one year younger. I'm sure that they will get along just fine. Oh, what are we doing standing around like this. Come on in, come, come. Make yourselves comfortable.

As soon as they enter the family room, Casey's face scrunches up in mock disgust when her eyes land on the blonde lounging across one of the sofas clearly having fallen asleep. "Ewwww, gross, what is that thing over there?" she says exaggeratedly which causes Emma to giggle quietly. "What do you think it is Em?"

"Monster." Emma whispers quietly before she puts her hands over her mouth and giggles once more.

"Yeah, I think it's a monster." Casey snickers as sneakily crosses the room and literally sits on her sister's outstretched body. Unable to contain her laughter when the tall blonde jolts awake at the sudden intrusion of her wake. "Really Ash? You're a grown woman and you're spread across the couch like a thirteen year old?"

Ashley Novak scowls sleepily as she wiggles and tries in vain to move from where she has been pinned to the sofa. "Get off, will ya? It's not like you're a feather anymore. Your big ass just can't go around sitting on people."

Casey taps her finger to her chin as she begins to think for a moment. "Nah, I think it's kinda comfortable here." she concludes as she presses more of her weight into her sister, causing the slightly older woman to groan in distress.

Alex can't hide the chuckle that escapes her lips as she watches the playful banter between the two sisters. Her heart slightly sinks for a moment when she wishes that she had this kind of relationship with her sister, but then again, that's something that she knows will probably never be.

"You must be Alex," Ashley says as she finally notices the woman lingering on the other side of the room. "It's nice to finally meet you, but what you're doing with this loser here, I'll never know."

"Yeah, well, she's been very good to me." Alex responds with a grin as she watches Casey yawn exaggeratedly and stretch across her sister.

"Even now they still act like toddlers…"

Alex spins around at the new voice entering the room and her eyes land on another crimson haired woman carrying a little girl who seems to be resting drowsily on her shoulder. The woman stops and sets down the sleepy redhead before she smiles and extends her hand. "I'm Hannah."

"Alex," Alex responds as she accepts the handshake before she looks down towards the tired little girl who is pouting and rubbing at her eyes. "And who is this sleepy little one?"

"That's Lucy. You'll have to forgive her, she just woke up from her nap. She's usually very social though. Just give her a few minutes."

"I completely understand. My Emma is the exact same way. She's a pain to put down for a nap, but once she's actually asleep she doesn't want to wake up any more."

Emma lets go of her mother's hand and makes her way over to the little girl who is still rubbing her eyes from her nap. She purses her lips for a moment before she thinks of something eloquent to say. "Hi…" she begins quietly, grinning when she gets the little girls attention. "My names Emma. What's yours?"

"Lucy…" the little redhead responds before she gives a sleepy grin. "Do you like to play with dollies? My Mommy let me bring some over. Do you wanna play with me?"

"Ooo, can I Mommy?" Emma asks looking back at her mom expectantly, smiling when Alex nods her approval and she follows Lucy to play with the dollies.

Hannah chuckles quietly to her self at the two children before she turns back to Alex. "So, I here that you're the one that has my sister on cloud nine. How long have to the of you been together?"

Alex thinks for a moment before she gives a small shrug of her shoulders. "Oh, it's been a few months now, but I couldn't have been happier. Casey has done so much for Emma and me, I just don't know how I can ever repay her for everything. She really is a sweetheart and she makes me very happy."

"I bet. I've never seen someone put a smile on her face like you have. I really admire you for that. It's about time she found someone. With as much as she cares about other people, it's time that someone is there to care for her too, you know?"

"Oh believe me, I completely understand. You know, I swear sometimes I have two children in the house instead of one."

Hannah quirks an eyebrow as she looks towards her two younger sisters who are now wrestling on the floor. "It's always like this whenever they get together. We all know that Casey is basically a big kid, and whenever she and Ash get together…well, let's just say things turn out like this."

Alex grins and nods her head unable to hide her laughter at the two women rolling around on the floor like kids. "It's so nice to see a relationship like that between two sisters. I've never had a relationship like that with my sister."

"I can understand. It seems to me that Rachel seems very hard to get along with." Hannah says nonchalantly with a small shrug.

"How did you…?" Alex trails off, her eyes narrowing as she curiously eyes the woman up and down.

"I'm a federal prosecutor who unfortunately has done business with Rachel on several occasions. I've dealt with her enough times to be able to recognize any member of her family. The two of you look so much alike, it was hard to ignore the fact that you're a Cabot."

Alex sighs quietly as she hangs her head. "Sometimes I wish that I wasn't." she says honestly after a moment of silence.

Hannah doesn't miss the look of sadness on the blonde's face and she tilts her head in genuine interest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or anything."

"No, you didn't. It's fine. So, you're a Fed, huh?"

"If that's the way that you put it, yes, I am. Is it safe to assume that you work for the district attorney, much like my sister?"

Alex nods her head as a smile creeps onto her face. "That's right. Although, with out Casey, I wouldn't even be there. In fact, without here, I'm not even sure where I would be right now."

"You two talking about me?" Casey asks with curiosity as she approaches the two and wraps her arms around Alex's waist. "I see that you both have gotten well acquainted with one another."

"We have. Hannah was just telling me how childish you are." Alex responds with a grin as she gently pecks her lover on the lips. "As if I didn't already know."

Casey shrugs and grins in a childlike manner before she nuzzles her girlfriend's neck with her nose. "Well, you know me." she murmurs before they are all startled by the shrill ringing of their mother's voice coming from the kitchen. "I think lunch is ready."

After a rather humorous yet entertaining lunch with her family and her girlfriend, Casey finds her self in the kitchen helping her mom clean up from their prior engagements. "So, when is Dad gonna be home?" Casey asks curiously having just learned that her father is away on business.

"Any day now," Carolyn replies as she starts scrubbing a plate. "When his flight gets in I'll have him call you."

"Thanks, that'll be cool. Maybe I'll stop by when he gets in."

There is a comfortable silence between the two of them before Carolyn daintily clears her throat and smiles. "Sooooo…" she begins with a smile, drawing out the word playfully. "Alex?"

"What about her?" Casey responds, trying to play off her innocence that she knows isn't going to work against her mother.

"Oh don't give me that Cassandra. You know how you feel about her. All of us can tell just by the way that you've been looking at her all afternoon. It's actually really sweet and heartwarming to see someone have that affect on you and to be a romantic interest no less."

"I really love her Mom. More than anything. She and that little girl in there with her have become my life. I've never felt like this towards anyone before and to be honest, when I first started realizing I felt this way, I was scared. I was terrified because I had never been with someone like this and I was afraid that I was going to mess this up, but I'm glad to see that I haven't. I think…I think she might be the one Mom."

Carolyn gasps quietly as tears of joy spring to her eyes. "Oh Casey dear, that's wonderful! She fits in so well to the family. What are you going to do about it? Please dear, you have to tell me the details."

Casey chuckles at her mother eagerness as she turns her attention back to the dishes. "When the time comes, I promise I'll let you know Mom. Don't worry about that." she says quietly, already having a plan of what she's going to do forming in the back of her mind.

* * *

"Honey, did you know that we have a new bureau chief?" Alex asks curiously as she looks away from her laptop and peers expectantly at her lover through the frames of her glasses.

Casey frowns in curiosity as she snaps her head up from what she was doing on her tablet. "New what? You mean Cutter got axed? I mean granted I'm not complaining because I hated his ass but what if the new one is worse? God, I can only imagine what Liz has done. Wait, pause. How do you know this."

Alex giggles quietly to her self as she turns her computer around for Casey to see. "It's in this email that Liz sent out this morning. If you would check your email like a good ADA is supposed to do, you would know these things honey. It also says in the email that our new boss has already requested that we have a meeting in the conference room at two."

"Great…" Casey groans as she slumps in her chair before she abruptly stands up. "You know what, I'm gonna go see who it is. See if I'm gonna hate them or not. You wanna join me?"

"No thanks, if you're going to go get your self fired, I politely suggest that you leave me out of it." Alex states with a shake of her head before she blows a kiss. "But feel free to go on your own."

"Chicken." Casey teases with a grin before she exits her girlfriend's office. She hums to her self as she makes her way down the hall, all the while wondering to her self whether or not she's going to hate her new boss. Sure she should be happy that Cutter is gone, but at the same time, there is always the possibility that someone worse can take his place.

As she makes her way towards the bureau chief's office, she straightens her posture to do a casual walk by so she can nonchalantly peer into the office without appearing too obvious. However, her plan falters when she gets about halfway past and she recognizes the familiar figure lounging in the chair, completely with long legs stretched across the desk in that fashion that Casey hates so much. "Oh you cannot be serious…"

A Cheshire grin spreads across Abbie's face as she skillfully tosses a paper wad into the wastebasket by the door of her new office. Honestly had she known that Casey was coming by she would have had a phone ready to snap a picture of her best friend's face.

"Surprise."

***DHUN DHUN* heheheheh gotta love those moments of mine right? **

**Question; if I actually wrote a legit Casey/JJ fic, how many of you would actually read it? I think I already know the answer to this question, but I thought I'd ask anyway. **

**Anyhow, back to the story, Leave your thoughts? **


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Alright, so, out of the eleven of you that reviewed the last chapter of this story, SIX of you didn't answer my question. You know who you are…just like I know who you are. The only reason I'm making a huge deal out of this is because I really did need an answer to that question. I don't care what the answer is, but I do need an answer. So if you have no idea of what I'm talking about, I suppose that I shall ask again, **

**If I actually wrote a legit Casey/JJ fic, how many of you would actually read it? **

**Tripperz: No, I most definitely would not make it a habit and abandon my AC stories. Plus, if I do write it, it's not like I would drop everything to write that ONE story. I would most definitely have other AC projects going on at the times so you guys could still get your feels :3**

**Steple: I'm not going to force you to change your mind because I know how loyal you are to your OTP :3 but like what I said up there to Tripperz, I wouldn't be abandoning the AC pair for good and it's not as if I would completely eject Alex from the story. She and Casey would most definitely be best friends in the event that this story does happen. Even I struggle reading a story that doesn't have Alex in it. I'm just testing the waters here so to speak. **

**Anyhow, enough of that rambling and on with the story! :3**

"I'm not sure if I should be happy or afraid that you've been given this much power." Casey begins with a chuckle as she leans against the doorframe. "So this is how you do things huh? You drop off the face of the earth for a while, and then you show up squeaky clean with a brand new drop? I've gotta admit, I'm impressed."

"I just needed some time to my self," Abbie replies with a rather nonchalant shrug. "Needed time to think about priorities, clear my head, ya know, things like that."

Casey quirks an eyebrow with a rather smug grin tugging at the corner of her lips. "Would any of these priorities have to o with a certain blonde that none of us have really heard from?" she asks curiously feeling like she already knows the answer to this question.

Abbie's smirk turns into a sincere smile as she takes her feet off of her desk. "I guess you could say that. I mean, things are still a little tense but they aren't like they were before. She finally agreed to let me take her to dinner and we talked. She told me that she was afraid and I told her that we would just take things as slow as she wanted them to go. I'm not gonna rush her into anything. I mean, that's gotta be hard right? To let your heart love again after someone you trust betrayed you? Anyway, I'm gonna take things slow with her, mainly because I don't wanna mess things up or anything. I—I want to do this right."

"That's great Abbs, really, it is. It's about time that you actually settled down with someone. I was actually getting kinda tired of seeing you flirt with anything that moves just to get Serena's attention."

"Hey, I didn't flirt with anything that moves! I never flirted with you!"

"Yeah, that's because you're like a sister and it'd be like…incest."

Abbie rolls her eyes at the comment before she wads up a scrap sheet of paper and promptly throws it at the redhead across the desk. "In other news, how have things with Alex been lately? I'm gonna assume that they've been great judging by the glow that you have going on over there."

Casey smiles bashfully and actually blushes as she averts her eyes at the thought of the woman she loves. "Things have been great actually. I took her to meet my family this past weekend and they all got along great. Alex was able to fit right in. They were all really accepting of her and Emma, and I couldn't have been happier about it. It's just…the things that she does to me Abbie, I just don't even know how to explain it. I love her so much you know? I've never felt this way about anyone in my whole life. I think she's the one Abbie. I think it's her."

"Whoa, you mean like…the one, the one?"

"Yeah, like 'the one, the one'. Whenever I'm not with her, I find my self wanting to be with her whenever we're apart. Sometimes I'll catch my self just thinking the little things, maybe about what she's doing or what's going through her head. I love making her smile and laugh and I just want to be there for her all the time. She's the one Abbie, I know she is."

"Wow, Case, that's amazing." Abbie exclaims with surprise. "So, do you think that you're ready to take your relationship to the next level? Do you think that you're ready to take that leap with her?"

Casey thinks for a moment before she nods her head, her voice coming out as slightly shaky. "I think I am. I don't want there to be any chance that she could slip away from me. I want to make her mine forever. I just…I've never done this before, I'm not sure if I know how to…"

Abbie holds up her hands and shakes her head. "Hey, man, I know that I'm your best friend and all, but unfortunately, I don't think you should come to me on this. I've only just figured out what a 'relationship' is. This sounds like a question for your sister in law. Maybe ask Sam how she proposed to Hannah? She might be able to help you out far better than I can. I can be there for moral support though."

"Your version of moral support consists of you sitting there snooping and adding in your two cents where they aren't necessary…"

"Aw, you know me so well. C'mon. Let's go have that meeting so I can lay down these ground rules and get this over with so I can come back in here and fall asleep like a good boss is supposed to do."

Casey rolls her eyes as she stands up and reluctantly follows the tall brunette out of the office towards the conference room. She let's out a puff of air and she shakes her head as she realizes that the DA's office is literally about to be turned on its head. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, she has literally no idea.

Upon entering the conference room, Casey promptly takes a seat next to Alex who seems to be busy looking through a file spread out in front of her. "So, I went and got well acquainted with our new boss." She whispers playfully into the blonde's ear, knowing that she hasn't looked up yet. "I gotta say, she is very easy on the eyes."

Alex scowls deeply but remains focused on the papers in front of her. "It's a she? And you have already given me good reason to kill her?" she whispers back, finally looking up in time to see Abbie take her seat at the head of the table. "You're a terrible tease, you know that?"

"You should've known I was only kidding Baby. I only have eyes for you." Casey whispers again before she turns her attention to the start of their meeting.

Abbie taps her fingers against the table and clears her throat as she gathers the attention of all of her ADA's. Her ADA's. Now that is a statement that she can most definitely get used to. "Alright, as you all know, the lovely and eloquent Michael Cutter is no longer with us. I think that it is safe to assume that none of us are complaining." She pauses, earning a snicker from all the attorneys at the table who share a mutual dislike for the ex bureau chief. "Anyhow, I'm not going to hold all of you here long because I for one am not particularly a fan of long meetings so if we all cooperate with one another, this will run smoothly and be over quickly. Let us just get one thing straight here; I have a bureau to run and my main goal here is to see that we all succeed; period. Which means that I am your boss; not your baby sitter and that means that I expect everyone here to conduct themselves accordingly to their profession. We all have jobs to do and I will not waste time picking apart petty fights that can be handled on other occasions. If one of you has a problem with something, tell me rather than handling things on your own. We lost three ADA's last year because of petty foolishness that Cutter let go on for far too long and I will assure you that I will not make that mistake. I have zero tolerance for it. There isn't much to say other than that and I look forward to working with all of you and while Cutter all gave us reason to hate him, I can assure you that I will not give you all those reasons. Before we disband this meeting, very quickly I want an update on all of the pending cases going on at the moment. We'll start with Cabot and then we will work our way around the table from there. Shall we begin?"

The meeting and update doesn't particularly take long and abruptly twenty minutes later, Abbie finds her self nodding and giving the last of her input on the last case presented to her. To be honest, she didn't anticipate things running as smoothly as they did, but then again, she's not complaining.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way. As my first decision of acting bureau chief, I do have a business matter to attend to. Now I have given this some thought so I don't want any of you thinking that this was a rash decision on my part." Abbie pauses as she stops twirling her pen around her finger and points it across the table at Kim. "You. You're fired. You have until tomorrow afternoon to clear out your office. All of your cases you can put on my desk and I will divide them amongst someone else. Other than that, I have nothing more to say. I hope all of you have a good rest of your day. Let's finish off the day with getting some work done, yeah?"

As the other attorneys disband the meeting, a select two remain in their seats with their jaws practically falling out over the table. Serena is actually the first one to recover, though it is only after she has opened and closes her mouth several times. "Well…um…" she begins, trailing off as her eyes land on her stagnant best friend. "Kim, honey, are you alright?"

"She fired me…" Kim says quietly, her eyes still wide in disbelief. "I can't believe it. That bitch actually fired me. That is a blatant abuse of power!"

"Honey, calm down."

"Calm down?! How the hell do you expect me to calm down?! I just lost my job Serena! You cannot expect me to be calm about this! What the hell am I supposed to do now!? I don't know how to do anything else! I cannot fucking believe this. This is bullshit."

Serena gently rests her hand on the angry woman's shoulder, a little surprised to find her shaking. "Look, let…let me talk to her alright? Just…clean out your office like your supposed to, go home, take a nap, do whatever and I'll call you later okay?" she suggests quietly, sighing when she doesn't receive a response. "Kim, please?"

"Fine…" Kim grumbles before she gathers her things and storms out of the conference room, all the while muttering obscenities about unfairness as she makes her way out.

Serena sighs heavily as she leans against the table. Now she finds her self caught between a rock and a hard place. Sure they've had their fair share of differences, but Kim is still her friend. Now she just has to figure out whether or not this talk should happen before or after her date with Abbie.

* * *

Alex groans as she finishes up her meeting with Judge Howard. To be honest, she honestly had no idea that a ten minute long conversation would end up taking two and a half hours. Then again, she should have known that she wasn't going to be getting out of there any time soon after the first half hour.

She grips her attaché tightly as her heels click against the marble of the courthouse, the sound echoing loudly off of the walls and then getting lost in the emptiness. As soon as she steps through the front doors to go make her way towards her car, she freezes in her tracks when she sees her lover standing on the steps before her clutching a long stemmed rose and wearing a wide grin.

"Casey? Baby, what are you doing here? I thought you would be at home right now." Alex asks curiously as Casey makes her way up the steps and approaches her.

"Yeah, I know, but I had a little something that I needed to do first." Casey responds with that same grin as she offers Alex the rose. She takes the blonde's hand in her own and takes an encouraging breath before she slowly sinks down to one knee. "Alex, the moment that I very first laid eyes on you, I could not help but notice how exceptionally beautiful you are. I immediately wanted to get to know more about you and I had made it my personal goal to get you to open up to me. I wanted to know what made you tick. I wanted to know why you wore that sad smile on your face whenever you were at work, I wanted to know why you tilt your head to the side when you're sad, I wanted to know what made you laugh, what your favorite color was, I wanted to know everything. There has never been a woman in my life that has captured my attention like you have and you've even gone as far as to capture my heart as well. I want to give you the world and then some. I want to give you everything that you could ever want or could ever ask for because you more than deserve it. You deserve to be treated like a queen and I would want nothing more than to be there to give all of that to you. I want to be there to hold you when you're sad, I want to be the one to make you laugh when you need to, I want to be there to rub your shoulders after a hard day; I want to be there just to be there. I want to be there to watch Emma grow up in your image and I want to be apart of her life just as much as I want to be apart of yours. I want you to be there right beside me when I wake up every morning and I want the last thing I see before I fall asleep at night is your beautiful smile. You are the perfect woman for me and I cannot express how thankful I am that I have you in my life right now. I want to be there for you to hold you for ever. With all of that being said, Alexandra Elizabeth Cabot, will you marry me?"

Alex's fingers tighten around the rose and a strangled squeak escapes her lips as she brings her hand over her mouth. Tears pour heavily down her cheeks and because she doesn't trust her voice to be firm enough for a response, she only manages a shaky head nod before she can form words. "Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!"

Casey's nervous grin widens as she stands up to her feet and pulls the love of her life into a warm kiss. She wraps her arms around Alex's waist and kisses her as if her life truly and utterly depends on it. When the need for air becomes too great, they pull apart, resting their foreheads together in a lover's embrace.

"I love you so much Alex, more than anything." Casey whispers as she gives her lover another peck on the lips.

"I love you too Casey." Alex responds quietly, her voice still overwhelmed with emotion.

Casey grins before she steps away and laces their fingers together. "C'mon, there's still another part to this proposal." She says with a wink before she begins tugging Alex towards the back parking lot of the courthouse.

Alex continues to clutch her rose tightly as she follows Casey around to the parking lot. She frowns slightly when she sees several men clad in white tuxedos complimented by red vests and bowties, standing in two even lines stretched across the parking lot. "Casey, what is this?" she asks curiously, knowing that it's something judging by the smug look on the redhead's face.

"You'll see." Casey responds with a hint of mischief in her voice. "Gentlemen?"

On her call, the men all reach into their jacket pockets before they all present what appears to be a black velvet ring box, each housing a diverse ring of its own custom design.

"Casey! You didn't!" Alex gasps as things slowly start to make sense. "What did you…how did you…how many are there?"

"Fifty-two." Casey shrugs before she chuckles nervously and runs a hand through her hair. "When I talked to my sister in law about this idea, she told me that three hundred and sixty five was a ridiculous number so she talked me down to fifty two. One for ever week in the year that I want to spend with you. That and I was so indecisive about which ring to buy you, I just thought this would be better. That way you can pick which one that you want."

"You bought fifty-two different engagement rings?! Casey that's ridiculous! No one has ever done anything like this for me before."

"I told you that I would do anything for you. This is just only the beginning."

**That up there was my dream proposal. Like…no lie. God I loved this chapter. Anyhow, leave your thoughts! **


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: I am so annoyed at this site as of late. With all the crashing then no email notifications, UGH**

**Anyway, kind of a fluffy chapter here. Forgive errors, this was done on my phone again. I unfortunately go back to school/work tomorrow :( sadness which means updating may be less frequent for a while, but here's a chapter anyway! Enjoy!**

Finally feeling completely unnerved by the silence, Abbie sighs quietly as she absentmindedly taps her fingers against the table. "You know, the whole purpose of this date is for us to talk. Talking is kind of hard to do when I'm the only one making any kind of conversation." She says trying to prompt any kind of reaction from the woman across from her. She sighs more heavily this time when she receives silence as a response once again. "Serena seriously. I thought we were going to make an effort to try here. I know we agreed to take things slow here, but I didn't realize that it meant you not speaking to me."

Serena frowns as she keeps her gaze on her plate, continuing to robotically push the lettuce of her salad around with her fork. "I've spoken to you." She says defensively, though she doesn't look up to say it.

"Fragments of sentences don't exactly count as speaking. That right there is probably the most you've said to me all night." Abbie deflects before she folds her arms across her chest and leans back in her chair. "We could start this by being honest with each other. Maybe you can tell me what I've done that's gotten you so upset that way I can do anything within my power to fix it. Is this work related?"

"Sort of..."

"Tell me about it then. Surely it has nothing to do with being out with your boss seeing as we've already sort of slept together when I was in charge at homicide."

Serena frowns again before she vigorously shakes her head in response. "No, no, that has absolutely nothing to do with it. If it did, I wouldn't have agreed to go out with you." She pauses as she wets her lips before speaking again. "Abbie, I trust you. I trust you as a person, as a friend, as a boss, and as an attorney. I trust that you are capable of making the utmost responsible decisions when it comes to the bureau and I honestly couldn't think of anyone better than you that could do this job. I know every decision that you make is intended for everyone's benefit, but...about your decision a few days ago, I-I can't help but wonder if it was for business or personal reasons that you made it."

Abbie solemnly nods her head as the proverbial cat is now out of the bag. "I see," she states, letting on that she knows where this conversation is headed. "This is about my decision to fire Kim. I fired her, and she asked you to talk to me and plead her case, am I right? Well then, let's here it. Can't say I'm surprised."

Serena's mouth snaps shut for a moment and she sucks her head a little before clearing her throat to begin. "Abbie I-as I said before, I trust you and your decision making, but I just think that you were being the slightest bit irrational in firing her."

"How so?"

"How so? Abbie, it was abrupt and frankly I don't see that you have any ground basis for doing so. At least, not professional wise. God forbid, her attitude sucks pretty much all the time and I know that she most certainly isn't the easiest person to be around or get along with but that's just how she operates. That's who she is. I get all of that, but I also know that she's a good attorney. I know that and you know it too. Regardless of how you feel about her, I don't think that it was wise to let go of a good asset to the division. In turn you've practically left me by myself in the unit."

"I can always hire someone, not to mention you can split the case load with SVU until then," Abbie counters rationally before she sighs. "Look, I am in a position where I can't deal with her and I am to the point where I will not deal with her. There has never been a time where that woman has respected me and I am not going to stand for it any longer. Frankly, I didn't want to stand for it when we worked in the same unit but I was being passive and I really didn't want to take it up with Liz and Cutter about getting her removed. I wasn't in the mood for that. Now? I can't take it, I won't take it. She's disrespected me before Serena and you know damn well that she will do it again without remorse. I'm not going to allow that to be a distraction to me or to anyone else."

Serena bites down on her bottom lip as she heavily contemplates on what she wants today. "Abbie look at this from her point of view for a moment. Being an assistant district attorney and then being fired from said job does NOT look good on a transcript. It can mess up so many other opportunities. She said it her self, she doesn't know how to do anything else. Her job was basically her life, just like my job is mine, and your job is yours. It was her life and you took that away from her without any overhead warning. It's just not easy to find something to do after you've been fired from a job you love doing so much. What if it was you? If you were fired, where would you go afterwards?"

"I'm not sure."

"See? It's not just something you can brush off. 'Oh I lost my job huh better go find another one'. It cannot be that easy. As I said before, I know she's not easy to get along with, if anyone knows that it's me but for some odd reason, she is still my best friend. I just wanted to put the idea out there of maybe rethinking your decision."

Abbie is silent for a moment as she continues to let her fingers drum against the table. After a long moment of thought she clicks her tongue and shifts in her seat. "I can see where you are coming from, but maybe this here is what your little friend needs to learn her lesson in respect."

Serena sighs in defeat as she hangs her head and shake it. "I figured that it wasn't going to be an easy task in getting you to change your mind." She mutters quietly before clearing her throat. "I'm sorry, I had no intentions of spoiling our romantic evening with talk about work. If you want to leave now, I completely understand."

"Why would I want to leave? Just because we have a disagreement on something doesn't mean I'm going to give up and walk away. Casey and Alex have disagreements all the time. Casey likes Metallica and baseball while Alex likes Mozart and book reading. It's natural in a relationship for there to be disagreements. It wouldn't be a relationship if there weren't any."

"Relationship...?"

Abbie internally winces when she realizes her potential error. "Yes, relationship. Even though we are taking things slowly, I-I want a relationship with you. A real one."

A small smile tugs at Serena's lips as she ducks her head a little. "No it's not that I just," she then pauses as her smile fades a little. "I just don't understand why you would. Clearly I'm going to mess something up and make you want to leave me for someone else. I've already hurt you enough as is."

"Hey, I'm not her, okay? I would never, ever do that to you. Especially not behind your back. I hate that she's ruined you like this; it burns me up inside, but I can assure you I won't break that promise." Abbie states firmly before she shrugs and chuckles nervously. "It's okay for you to feel weary I understand. I'm practically scared out of my mind about all of this here because I've never done this. I've never actually had a real girlfriend before."

"You're kidding." Serena gasps with widened eyes. "You? You who women are practically throwing themselves at all the time? Never?"

"Never and women do not throw themselves at me."

"Abbie, I'm sure that there are even straight women who want you. But how come you've never had a relationship before?"

Abbie shrugs as a small grin forms in her face. "I guess I just hadn't found the right lady until now."

Serena feels heat rush to her face and she swears she's turning as red as her dress. "Well, thank you..." She whispers, not really sure how else to take the compliment.

"My pleasure," Abbie chuckles as their waitress returns with the check and her credit card. She thanks the waitress who promptly winks at her before she sets about retrieving her card and the receipt. Upon looking at the receipt, a small blush faintly appears at her cheeks.

It's something that doesn't go unnoticed by Serena who frowns and slightly tilts her head in curiosity. "Is something wrong?"

Abbie awkwardly runs at the back of her neck as her eyes continue to glance over the slip of paper. "No uh, it's just," she pauses turning the receipt over. "She wrote her phone number on the receipt..."

"And you said women don't throw themselves at you."

"Yeah yeah, let's get you home."

* * *

Alex's eyes continue to breeze over the wording of her favorite James Patterson novel with ease as she continues to get deep into the mindset of the story. In all honesty, these are probably one of her favorite series of books though she feels like the short lived television series didn't do the novel justice simply because they couldn't find a blonde actress to play the title roll of Lindsay Boxer. But at the same time, the actress they _did_ find to play the lead roll was _very_ pleasant to look at, so Alex found her self unable to complain.

As she dwells even deeper into the novel at one of it's heightening interest points, she fingers the edge of the page, preparing her self to easily flip to the next to cease the suspense. Just as she is about to turn to the next page, a loud blast from down stairs scares her half to deal, causing her to startle and drop the book over the edge of the bed.

"Jesus Christ," Alex gasps to her self as she places a hand over her rapidly beating heart. Her lips purse after a moment as she finally recognizes the sounds as extra loud guitar riffs complete with the clashing of drums and singing that can hardly be classified as music. "This woman, I swear..."

The rather frazzled blonde attorney retrieves her fallen book from the floor and marks it before she makes her way from the bedroom. She winces as she opens the door and the music floats into the room seeming to be louder than she had first anticipated.

With purpose, Alex makes her way down the hall and to the top of the stairs where she folds her arms at seeing her fiancée on the couch, head banging and 'air guitar-ing' to the chorus of whatever this is,

Alex easily glides down the stairs and places both hands on her hips as she watches the redhead get deep off into the song. "Casey," Alex says in her normal tone, frowning when she realizes she can't even hear her self speak. "Casey!" She tries once again, scowling when her shout gets lost in a series of screaming guitars and smashing drums. "CASEY!"

Okay, after the third try and no response, Alex stalks across the room and hits the stop button on the stereo, immediately engulfing the condo into a much appreciated silence. "Casey!"

"Huh?" Casey answers instinctively before she frowns realizing that it's far too quiet. "Hey! Where did my music go?"

Alex wrinkles her nose as she glides across the room and joins her lover on the couch. "I highly doubt that was classified a music. My giving birth was more melodic than what ever you were just listening to."

Casey gasps exaggeratedly as she places a hand over her heart and points a finger. "You take that back! What I was just listening to was a work of art!"

"Yeah okay. Anyway, do you have to have the music so loud?" Alex asks with a frown.

"But Allleeex," Casey begins with a whine, "The only way to listen to rock n roll and heavy metal is to have the music so loud you can't hear yourself think."

"Yeah you can't hear your self think and you're significant other nearly goes into cardiac arrest. Plus I was trying to read, Baby."

"Ooo, I like reading."

"No you don't Casey..."

"Sure I do! Tell me what you were reading."

Alex shakes her head and rolls her eyes at the amount of whining her fiancée is doing at the moment. "If you must know, I was reading The Women's Murder Club."

Casey's eyes widen in interest as her lips form into a perfect 'O' shape. "I liked that show! Wait...they wrote a book for it too!?"

"They book came first Casey. Clearly you haven't read any of them. The show didn't do it any justice."

"I thought it was pretty good!"

"Lindsay was supposed to be blonde Case," Alex responds with a chuckle as she shakes her head. "Only reason I watched it was because the lead actress was insanely hot."

"Oh," Casey says, responding to Alex's first statement before she comprehends the second and her face scrunches into a pout. "Hey! Wait! She was alright..."

Alex quirks an eyebrow in amusement at the look spreading across Casey's face. "Are you jealous, Baby?"

Casey involuntarily juts out her lower lip as she folds her arms and hunches her shoulders. "No..." She murmurs quietly.

"Aw this is so cute!" Alex squeals as she slides over into Casey's lap to where she is straddling her. "You're jealous."

"I'm not! I just don't like you thinking other women are hot...that's all."

"That's jealous, honey."

Casey pouts again before she huffs in defeat. "Okay, maybe a little bit. But can you blame me? I mean, I have an insanely hot fiancée. I'm sure there are a lot of men and women that would love to be in my shoes."

Alex grins as she leans down and connects there lips together in a brief but loving kiss. "That's right and I am marrying you. Not some actress I will never meet in my life."

"What if you do?"

"Then I will personally eat that ugly blue sweater Serena wears from time to time."

Casey chuckles at the statement and leans in to give the blonde an Eskimo kiss. "I knew there was a reason I loved you." She jokes. "Do you think Emma is having fun having a sleep over with Lucy?"

Alex thinks for a moment before she grins and nods her head. "I think she is and your sister hasn't called me about anything so I bet their having fun. But that's all Emma could talk about was spending the night with her new friend."

"Pretty soon, it'll be spending the night with her new cousin then." Casey says solemnly before her voice turns serious. "Speaking of which, that is something I want to talk with you about. Since we're getting married. I've been doing a lot of thinking and I was wondering of what you would think of the idea of me maybe...adopting Emma?"

"Casey," Alex gasps in shock, unable to say anything. "You, you really mean that?"

"Of course I so. I love that little girl like she's my own Alex and I would want nothing more than to be able to call her my daughter. That is, if that's okay with you. I know how much she means to you and the last thing I would want is for you too be uncomfortable."

"Casey, honey, I think that would be a wonderful idea. Emma loves you to death and you act like such a mother to her."

"That way we could really be a family." Casey smiles as she leans in and gives her fiancée a loving passionate kiss. "I love you, Baby. And I can't wait to share all of my life with you."

"I love you too. More than anything."

**Awww, gee that made me feel sappy, lol. Anyhow, I love my Women's Murder Club reference, gosh I love those books.**

**This is random, but I was watching SVU and I love Casey to death, I swear I do, but I am so not feeling this light blue coat of hers...god I hate that coat.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! Leave your thoughts!**


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